I Surrender Dear (song)

"I Surrender Dear" is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford. It was first performed by Bing Crosby and became his first solo hit. It has been covered by a large number of artists, making it a jazz and pop standard. The first jazz vocalist to record the song was Louis Armstrong in 1931.

The song is referenced in the 1949 war film Battleground, which depicts the hardships of American troops attempting to hold the town of Bastogne in late December, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge. German radio is heard broadcasting the song to the entrenched American troops to demoralize them. This psychological warfare is shown to have the opposite effect on the GIs, who hum along (to the old chestnut), but prefer to hear real American radio.

"I Surrender Dear" inspired two motion pictures bearing that title: a 1931 Bing Crosby musical short produced by Mack Sennett, and a 1948 feature film starring one of Crosby's co-stars, singer Gloria Jean.

Renditions

 * Bing Crosby – I Surrender Dear soundtrack (1931)
 * Tyree Glenn – I Surrender Dear/The House of parting edited by Blue Star french label (1947)
 * Django Reinhardt – Django in Rome 1949/1950 (1950)
 * Nat King Cole – Penthouse Serenade (1952)
 * Herman's Norwegian Jazz group Soloist: Rowland Greenberg - Recorded on December 3, 1954 and re-released on the extended play Odeon GEON 2
 * Ray Charles – The Great Ray Charles (1957)
 * Thelonious Monk – Brilliant Corners (1957), Solo Monk (1965)
 * Terry Snyder and the All Stars – Persuasive Percussion (1959)
 * Paul Gonsalves – Gettin' Together! (1960)
 * Aretha Franklin – The Electrifying Aretha Franklin (1962)
 * Count Basie – Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' (1966)
 * Julie London – Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast (1967)
 * Ella Fitzgerald – Jazz at Santa Monica Civic '72 (1972)
 * Roy Eldridge – Roy Eldridge 4 - Montreux '77 (1977)
 * Chet Atkins and Les Paul – Guitar Monsters (1978)
 * Abdullah Ibrahim – Autobiography (1978)
 * Madonna and Jennifer Grey – Bloodhounds of Broadway soundtrack (1989)