"I Want to Be Happy" is a song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar written for the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette.

"I Want to Be Happy"
Sheet music, 1924
Song
Published1924 (1924)
GenrePopular
Composer(s)Vincent Youmans
Lyricist(s)Irving Caesar

Musical

edit

The song is used several times throughout the musical as a running theme representing the attempts of various people to please others.

It is first sung by the character Jimmy to his ward Nanette.

Film appearances

edit

Recordings

edit

“I Want to Be Happy” charted several times over thirteen years:[1]

Other recordings include:

Other Versions

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Jazz Standards Songs and Instrumentals (I Want to Be Happy)". Jazzstandards.com. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  2. ^ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press. pp. 185–186. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  4. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  6. ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.