Eddie Cantor, the star of the show introduced “ Makin’ Whoopee” which also became a jazz standard.Ĭhart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954
Benny Goodman took the song to the charts twice: in 1934 for two weeks and again in 1936 in a new version which rose to number four. Etting recorded “Love Me or Leave Me” just days after the show opened in December, and it reached number two on the charts in 1929.
She stopped the show with her performance, and the song became her signature song. “Love Me or Leave Me” by composer Walter Donaldson and lyricist Gus Kahn was introduced in the 1928 Broadway show Whoopee! by Ruth Etting. Love Me or Leave Me became the title of a 1955 film about dancer/singer/actress Ruth Etting’s life starring Doris Day whose hit recording revived interest in the song.
