You Took Advantage of Me

"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart, for the musical Present Arms (1928), where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley^[1] as the characters Edna Stevens and Douglas Atwell.^[2] The characters were formerly married, but still have romantic feelings for each other.^[3] On opening night, Berkeley forgot the lyrics and had to scat and hum the entire second verse.^[4] Berkeley also claimed that his nonsense lyrics for the improvised second verse left Hart "almost apoplectic", but the audience was amused and Hart later forgave him.^[3] The song was subsequently included in the 1930 film Leathernecking, an adaptation of Present Arms.^[5]

"You Took Advantage of Me"
Song
Published	1928
Genre	Showtune
Composer(s)	Richard Rodgers
Lyricist(s)	Lorenz Hart

Rodgers described the song as a "sassy and unregretful number" which audiences liked far more than traditional contemporary love songs.^[6] In his book The Poets of Tin Pan Alley, Philip Furia wrote that the song depicted a "...wittily self deprecating character who was perfectly suited to lyrics that were at once intricately rhymed yet casually conversational."^[6]

One of the earliest recordings of the song was Paul Whiteman's 1928 hit version, known especially for the performances of Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer.^[7][8] The song was a particular favorite of the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII). In fact, he once asked singer Morton Downey to perform the song eleven times during a show at the Café de Paris in London.^{[9][10][11][12]} The song can be sung by either gender, but has traditionally been sung by women.^[6]

Notable recordings

• Irving Kaufman & Vaughn De Leath (1928)
• Paul Whiteman's Orchestra with Bing Crosby (recorded April 25, 1928)^[13]
• Miff Mole and His Little Molers (1928)
• Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli (1937)
• Snoozer Quinn (1948)
• Keely Smith (1949)
• Anita O'Day (1950)
• Judy Garland in the "Born in a Trunk" sequence from A Star Is Born (1954)
• Elaine Stritch in the revival of the show On Your Toes for which it was added in 1954 and for her solo album Stritch.
• Carmen McRae (1956) CABU Jazz Masters - Une Anthologie 1954-1956 - used as the title credits role in the movie Real Genius (1985)
• June Christy - The Misty Miss Christy (1956)
• Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook (1956)^[14]
• Billie Holiday - Last Recordings (1959)
• Rosemary Clooney - Rosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle! (1960)
• Tony Bennett - My Heart Sings (1961)
• Ann-Margret -Bachelors' Paradise (1963)
• Al Hirt - That Honey Horn Sound (1965)^[15]
• Bobby Short - Bobby Short Celebrates Rodgers & Hart (1975) (Short sings both verses in this recording)
• Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass - Fitzgerald and Pass... Again (1976)
• Linda Ronstadt with Nelson Riddle - Lush Life (1984)
• Roseanna Vitro - Listen Here (1984)
• Lee Wiley - Hot House Rose (1996)
• The Supremes - The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart (2002 expanded re-release edition)^[16]
• The Hi-Lo's - A Musical Thrill (2006)
• Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio - My Foolish Heart (2007, live)^[17]
• Megan Mullally on her 2007 album Free Again!.^[18] This version was also featured on the soundtrack to Fame (2009).

References

1. Present Arms - IBDB: The official source for Broadway information
2. IBDB Home Page Present Arms Production Songs
3. Gary Marmorstein (16 July 2013). A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart. Simon and Schuster. pp. 145–. ISBN 978-1-4165-9426-0.
4. Jeffrey Spivak, Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley (University Press of Kentucky, 2011), ISBN 978-0813126432, p. 37. Excerpts available at Google Books.
5. Gary Marmorstein (16 July 2013). A Ship Without A Sail: The Life of Lorenz Hart. Simon and Schuster. pp. 502–. ISBN 978-1-4165-9426-0.
6. Philip Furia (11 October 1990). The Poets of Tin Pan Alley : A History of America's Great Lyricists: A History of America's Great Lyricists. Oxford University Press. pp. 111–. ISBN 978-0-19-802288-6.
7. David A. Jasen, Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song Author (Routledge, 2003), ISBN 978-1135949013, p. 176. Excerpts available at Google Books.
8. Scott Yanow, Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years (Backbeat Books, 2003), ISBN 978-0879307554, p. 75. Excerpts available at Google Books.
9. "Richard Rodgers: Stage Musicals", Billboard, October 7, 1950, p. 88.
10. Brian Kellow, The Bennetts: An Acting Family (University Press of Kentucky, 2004), ISBN 978-0813123295, p. 129. Excerpts available at Google Books.
11. "Downey rises as TV Star". Long Beach Independent. 16 October 1949. p. 80. Retrieved 2 September 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Broadway". Fitchburg Sentinel. 2 April 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 2 September 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
14. allmusic ((( Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook [Vol. 1 - Overview ))) ]
15. Al Hirt, That Honey Horn Sound Retrieved April 12, 2013.
16. allmusic ((( The Supremes Sings Rodgers & Hart [The Complete Recordings > Overview ))) ]
17. Keith Jarrett / Gary Peacock / Jack DeJohnette | My Foolish Heart
18. allmusic ((( Free Again! > Overview )))