I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby


"I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" is an American popular song and jazz standard by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. The song was introduced by Adelaide Hall at Les Ambassadeurs Club in New York in January 1928 in Lew Leslie's Blackbird Revue, which opened on Broadway later that year as the highly successful Blackbirds of 1928, wherein it was performed by Hall, Aida Ward, and Willard McLean.
In the 100 most recorded songs from 1890 to 1954, "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby" is No. 24.
The original lyrics and music of the song entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.

Background

Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields had written the score for a revue at Les Ambassadeurs Club on 57th Street, New York, which featured the vocalist Adelaide Hall. However, the producer Lew Leslie believed that they still missed a 'smash' tune. The team pondered for a while before finally playing Leslie "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby". This was the song Leslie had been looking for and he immediately included it in the revue. One advertisement called it "the song success of the Nation."
Blackbird Revue opened on January 4, 1928, with Adelaide Hall singing "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby" solo. Later on, Fields and McHugh wrote a second half for the revue and Leslie expanded the production. With extra songs and extra performers added, Leslie renamed the revue Blackbirds of 1928 and took the full production for a tryout in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where it appeared at Nixon's Apollo Theatre. On May 9, 1928, Blackbirds of 1928 opened at the Liberty Theatre, Broadway.
The idea behind the song came during a stroll Fields and McHugh were taking one evening down Fifth Avenue; they saw a young couple window-shopping at Tiffany's. McHugh and Fields understood that the couple could not afford to buy jewelry from Tiffany's, but nevertheless they drew closer to them. It was then they heard the man say: "Gee, honey I'd like to get you a sparkler like that, but right now, I can't give you nothin' but love!" Hearing this, McHugh and Fields rushed to a nearby Steinway Tunnel, and within an hour they came up with "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby".
Some controversy surrounds the song's authorship. Andy Razaf's biographer Barry Singer offers circumstantial evidence that suggests Fats Waller might have sold the melody to McHugh in 1926 and that the lyrics were by Andy Razaf. Additionally, Philip Furia has pointed out that Fields' lines for bars 1 to 8 of the verse contain some phrases very similar to those in bars 9 to 16 of the second verse of Lorenz Hart's lyric for the song "Where's That Rainbow?" from the 1926 Rodgers and Hart musical Peggy-Ann. Peggy Ann had a book by Fields' brother Herbert and was produced by their father Lew.

Recorded versions

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga version

Composition and reception

The version of "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" on Cheek to Cheek has Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga alternating verses alongside piano, a brass section and drums. She also altered the lyrics to sing "Gee, I'd like to say you're looking swell, Tony", who later rejoins with the line "Diamond bracelets won't work, doesn't sell, Gaga". Jeff Benjamin from Fuse was positive in his review, saying that "here's a walking bassline, gospel organs and brassy horn blasts to back the pair's soulful crooning. And while we love listening to Gaga and Tony, we really get into the throwback vibe when the trumpet solo kicks in. Trey Barrineau from USA Today complimented the duos vocals, saying that the song "really swings".
Jesse David Fox from New York also gave a positive review, stating that "lot has been written about the creative and commercial shortcomings of Gaga's last record,, but I, for one, am glad about its failure – because anything that frees her up to record more music with Tony Bennett is a win in my book. 'I Can't Give You Anything but Love' is a great example; Tony Bennett might be 88, but it's Gaga who hasn't sounded this alive in years." A writer for Next Magazine declared that Gaga sounded "absolutely stellar" in the song, and found it to be a "vocal vehicle" for the artist to "show off" her singing. Debra Kamin from The Times of Israel praised Gaga's vocals on "I Can't Give You Anything but Love", for her range and control. MTV News critic Gil Kaufman described the track as "funky". Alexa Camp from Slant Magazine gave a negative review, saying that "for a singer who isn't even 30, Gaga's voice is shockingly rough-hewn".

Release and commercial performance

"I Can't Give You Anything but Love" was released as the second single from Bennett's and Lady Gaga's first collaborative album Cheek to Cheek on August 19, 2014. Gaga announced the release on Twitter, accompanied by the single's cover art. On October 6, two remixes of the song were made available for digital download. Remix by Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder was released exclusively to Idolator website. The chords of the original version was changed, with Moroder adding synths and a bassline, complementing the vocals of Bennett and Gaga. Another remix was an Earmilk exclusive and was made by Austrian musician Parov Stelar. He changed the cover into a "bouncy jazz house mix that provides a perfect compliment to the stars' seasoned vocals". Additionally, Universal Music Group sent the single to Italian radios on January 16, 2015. After its release, "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" debuted at number-one on the Jazz Digital Songs chart of Billboard, on the week ending September 6, 2014. The single also appeared on national charts of France and Italy at numbers 173 and 76 respectively.

Music video

An official music video for the song was released on August 26, 2014. The video was shot in the recording studio and the first half showed Gaga in numerous outfits and wigs, while recording the song and roaming around. Bennett joins the studio sessions later on, singing the song. The final chorus finds the two singers belting together, described as "join forces for a peculiar, yet potent blend of styles that transcends generations and genres".
Jon Blistein from Rolling Stone complimented the video, saying that it "proves exude a unique, adorable brand of musical chemistry". Maurice Bobb from MTV News noticed the "bare essence" of the duo in the video and added that Gaga appeared "overwhelmingly subdued", but felt that "her playful energy still shines through as she preens and shimmies to smooth crooning." Nolan Feeney from Time that Gaga appeared normal in the video and added that "she's still fun to watch even when she's just hanging out in the vocal both." Katie Atkinson from Billboard declared that "If you love the adorable friendship between glam pop queen Lady Gaga and classic crooner Tony Bennett, you'll definitely want to see the breezy behind-the-scenes studio video of the pair for 'I Can't Give You Anything but Love'." Idolator's Mike Wass described the video in detail, calling it the "perfect antidote for Gaga's overwhelming, more-is-more Artpop visuals... The swingin' standard is a nice fit for Gaga and Tony. It allows them to riff off each other and ham it up. Those shenanigans are captured in the studio-based video, which finds Mother Monster modeling a variety of wigs and smoking a cigar. Her suave companion looks a little bemused but he's clearly having a good time."

Use in the media