If I Didn't Care

For the 1979 Ink Spots album of the same name, see If I Didn't Care (1979 album).

"If I Didn't Care"
Single by the Ink Spots
B-side	"Knock Kneed Sal (On The Mourner's Bench)"
Released	1939
Recorded	January 12, 1939
Length	3:09
Label	Decca
Songwriter(s)	Jack Lawrence
The Ink Spots singles chronology
"My Prayer" (1939) "If I Didn't Care" (1939) "It's Funny to Everyone But Me" (1939)

"If I Didn't Care"
Single by Connie Francis
B-side	"Toward The End Of The Day"
Released	1959
Recorded	1958
Genre	Pop
Length	2:38
Label	MGM
Songwriter(s)	Jack Lawrence
Connie Francis singles chronology
"My Happiness" (1958) "If I Didn't Care" (1959) "Lipstick on Your Collar" (1959)

"If I Didn't Care" is a song written by Jack Lawrence that was sung and recorded by the Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny in 1939.

Background

The Ink Spots recording became the 10th 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]

History

The cultural impact of If I Didn't Care includes:

• Its addition to the Grammy Hall of Fame
• No. 271 on the Songs of the Century list
• A background track in the 2007 video game BioShock.
• The Ink Spots' recording selected in 2018 for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress^[3]
• Featured in the first series of The Tourist (TV Series)
• Inclusion in the soundtracks of films:
  • Blade Runner (1982)
  • Radio Days (1987)
  • Men Don't Leave (1990)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  • Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
  • Get Low (2009)
  • Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

Other recordings of If I Didn't Care include:

• A No. 17 hit in 1954 by the Hilltoppers^[4]
• A No. 22 hit in 1959 by Connie Francis^[5]
• A No. 30 hit in 1961 by the Platters^[6]
• A No. 44 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 by The Moments (later known as Ray, Goodman & Brown) and a No. 7 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.^[7]
• A No. 9 hit on the UK singles chart in 1974 by David Cassidy^[8]
• Addition to their 1999 album Wonderful by ska-pop band Madness.^[9]

References

1. "Songwriters Friends: The Ink Spots". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
2. "Jack Lawrence Songwriter website". Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
3. "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
4. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 213. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 240. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 494. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
7. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 408.
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 97. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. "Wonderful". Madness. Retrieved 1 August 2022.