If I Didn't Care

"If I Didn't Care"
Song by The Ink Spots
Released	February 1939
Recorded	January 12, 1939
Genre	Rhythm and blues, barbershop
Label	Decca Records
Writer(s)	Jack Lawrence

"If I Didn't Care" is a song written by Jack Lawrence that was originally sung and recorded by The Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny in 1939. The Ink Spots recording became the 6th best selling single of all time with over 19 million copies sold making it one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide. ^[1] According to Lawrence, he mailed the song before showing it to some of his friends. His friends' reaction to the song was almost unanimously negative, but he remained positive on it and later it became one of his biggest successes.^[2]

In the 1950s both The Hilltoppers and Connie Francis charted with the song, and in 1974 a version was recorded by David Cassidy. Another notable cover came from The Platters (#30, 1961). In 1970, the soul group The Moments (later known as Ray, Goodman & Brown) had a hit with the tune that reached number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also covered by Madness for their 1999 album Wonderful. In 1999 Bryan Ferry covered the song as a b-side on the As Times Goes By-cd-single. It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame and was number 271 on the "Songs of the Century" list.

In popular culture

• The Ink Spots appear as a guest quartet on the April 4, 1948 episode of The Jack Benny Program, singing a version of the song as the advertisement for Lucky Strike cigarettes.
• The song appeared in the film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, sung by the actors Amy Adams and Lee Pace.
• The Ink Spots' recording was used on the soundtracks of the films The Shawshank Redemption, Get Low, Radio Days, and Hyde Park on Hudson.
• It was also used in the television series The Wonder Years.
• The song was supposed to originally be used for the original Fallout video game, but was not used in the final product.
• It can be heard in the video game BioShock.
• The song is often sung by Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx) on the 1970s television series Sanford and Son and was his character's favorite song.
• It was also used in the teaser trailer for The Strangers.
• The song is sung by a civilian in the "X-Cops" episode of The X-Files.
• It is sung by "The Moments" in an episode of Frank's Place.
• It was featured in the trailer campaign for the film Blade Runner, but was never used in the final movie. Instead a Vangelis composed song, in the same old style, entitled "One More Kiss, Dear" is heard in the background during the scene when Deckard is buying liquor from a street vendor after shooting Zhora.
• The song is heard in the show Crossing Jordan.
• This song was sung by Venus Flytrap in an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati titled "Fish Story".
• The song is used at the end of pilot episode of Defiance.
• The song is used in the end credits of the film "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks".
• The song's title is sung by a group of sorority girls in the Spike Lee film "School Daze"

References

1. "Songwriters Friends: The Ink Spots". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
2. Jack Lawrence Songwriter website