I Surrender Dear

{{Other uses|I Surrender Dear (disambiguation)}}

{{short description|1931 song by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford}}

{{Infobox song

| name = I Surrender Dear

| cover = I Surrender Dear sheet music.jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| type = single

| written =

| published = 1931 Freed and Powers Ltd., EMI Mills Music Inc.{{Cite web|title=ACE Repertory|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/title/I%20surrender%20dear?at=false&searchFilter=SVW&page=1|access-date=2021-08-19|website=www.ascap.com}}

| artist = Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra, vocal refrain by Bing Crosby

| album =

| B-side = La Rosita

| released = February 5, 1931{{Cite book|last=Bolig|first=John|title=The Victor Black Label Discography|publisher=Mainspring Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0985200480|location=Denver}}

| recorded = January 19, 1931 take 2{{Cite web|title=Victor matrix PBVE-61068. I surrender, dear / Cocoanut Grove Orchestra ; Bing Crosby - Discography of American Historical Recordings|url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/800031512/PBVE-61068-I_surrender_dear|access-date=2021-08-19|website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}

| studio = Victor Hollywood Recording Studio, Studio 2, Los Angeles, California

| venue =

| genre = Jazz Big Band

| length = 3.43

| label = Victor 22618

| writer =

| composer = Harry Barris

| lyricist = Gordon Clifford

| producer =

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

"I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing Crosby in 1931, which became his first solo hit.[http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/isurrenderdear.htm I Surrender Dear] at jazzstandards.com - retrieved on 27 April 2009 This is the song that caught the attention of William Paley, president of CBS, who signed him for $600 a week in the fall of 1931.{{Cite web|title=BING CROSBY|url=https://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/book/roots_of_rock/support/crooner/Crosby2.htm|access-date=2021-08-19|website=www.shsu.edu}}

In 1931, it was performed by Sam Lanin,{{Citation|title=Sam Lanin & His Band - I Surrender, Dear 1931|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaSwryBuk2s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/XaSwryBuk2s |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-08-19}}{{cbignore}} as well as Ben Selvin, under the pseudonym "Mickie Alpert".{{Citation|title=1931 Ben Selvin (as Mickie Alpert) - I Surrender Dear (Helen Rowland, vocal)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzI5giCLqbY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/vzI5giCLqbY |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-08-19}}{{cbignore}} It has been covered by many artists, making it a jazz and pop standard. The first jazz vocalist to record the song was Louis Armstrong in 1931.

"I Surrender Dear" inspired two motion pictures bearing that title: a 1931 Bing Crosby musical short I Surrender Dear {{cite web|title=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021987/|website=IMDB|access-date=September 15, 2015}} produced by Mack Sennett, and a 1948 feature film{{cite web|title=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0178610/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1/|website=IMDB|access-date=September 15, 2015}} starring one of Crosby's co-stars, singer Gloria Jean. An instrumental 1930s-esque Jazz cover of this song was recorded for the 1996 movie Kansas City as part of the soundtrack. This song was also the comical introduction to the pre-code film, The Tip Off 1931, in which actor Eddie Quillan is a window singer at a radio repair shop. He mouths the song while it is being played over a new "Human Voice Amplifier".