"Just One of Those Things" is a well-known song written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee. Porter composed the music for Jubilee during a long trip on a ship in early 1935. Later, in September 1935, the person who wrote the words for Jubilee, Moss Hart, said the second part of the play needed another song. Porter finished writing "Just One of Those Things" by the next morning. (He had used the same title for a song that was not included in the 1930 musical The New Yorkers. The two songs are different, except for the title.)
In the original version of the song, Porter left out an adjective in the line "a trip to the moon on gossamer wings." His friend, Ed Tauch, suggested the word "gossamer."
A recording by Richard Himber reached the top of the music charts in 1935. Peggy Lee’s version of the song became a No. 14 hit on the Billboard charts in 1952.
Other recordings
The song is a well-known piece in the Great American Songbook, with many artists recording it over the years. Artists who have performed the song include Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Bing Crosby (recorded on January 21, 1945), Doris Day, Lena Horne, Maxine Sullivan, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Hartman, Mel Torme, Louis Prima, Diana Krall, John Barrowman, Bryan Ferry, Lionel Hampton, Claude Bolling, Charlie Parker, Gil Evans, Dave Brubeck, Freddie Hubbard, Oscar Peterson, Lee Morgan, Sidney Bechet, Nellie McKay, Erin McKeown, Joan Morris, Judy Garland, Patricia Barber, Johnny Dorelli, Jamie Cullum, Mabel Mercer, Dionne Warwick, The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl, and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Nat King Cole recorded it as the title track of his 1957 album Just One Of Those Things. Maurice Chevalier included it in a Cole Porter medley on his farewell album, which was released on his 80th birthday. Shirley Bassey recorded the song in 1963 for her EP In Other Words…. Tony Bennett performed a version of the song on his 2021 collaborative album with Lady Gaga, Love for Sale. Anna-Jane Casey performed the song live at the 2010 BBC Swinging Christmas under the John Wilson Orchestra.
Film appearances
- 1942 Panama Hattie – sung by Lena Horne.
- 1945 Just One of Those Things – sung by Louise Tobin.
- 1946 Night and Day – sung by Ginny Simms and danced by Estelle Sloan with a chorus.
- 1951 Lullaby of Broadway – performed by Doris Day.
- 1953 The Jazz Singer – performed by Peggy Lee.
- 1954 Young at Heart – sung by Frank Sinatra.
- 1960 Can-Can – performed by Maurice Chevalier.
- 1972 Sleuth.
- 1975 At Long Last Love – performed by Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, and Duilio Del Prete.
- 2003 Rosenstrasse.
- 2004 De-Lovely – sung by Diana Krall.
- 2005 Rumor Has It – sung by Nellie McKay.
In popular culture
In 1958, Polly Bergen and guests Dick Van Dyke and Carol Haney performed "Just One of Those Things" on her short-lived NBC variety show, The Polly Bergen Show. In the same year, Diana Dors performed the song as a nightclub singer in the 1963 episode "Run for Doom" of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
In 1983, the song was played during the final broadcast of NBC News Overnight on December 3, as part of a scene showing the show's staff.
In 2019, actress Helena Bonham Carter performed a version of the song in the third-season premiere of The Crown, while her character, Princess Margaret, was at a dinner party.
Mariah Carey sang a few lines of the chorus while talking about a past love affair in the audiobook of her autobiography, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
The title of the final, 2-hour episode of MASH*, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," is taken from the song's lyrics.