What Kind of Fool Am I?

1962 single by Sammy Davis Jr.
"What Kind of Fool Am I?"
Single by Sammy Davis Jr.
from the album What Kind of Fool Am I and Other Show-Stoppers
B-side"Gonna Build a Mountain"
Released1962 (1962)
Recorded1962
GenreEasy listening, R&B
Length2:58
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)
  • Leslie Bricusse
  • Anthony Newley
Sammy Davis Jr. singles chronology
"Bye Bye Blackbird"
(1962)
"What Kind of Fool Am I?"
(1962)
"Gonna Build a Mountain"
(1962)

"What Kind of Fool Am I?" is a popular song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and published in 1962. It was introduced by Anthony Newley in the musical Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. It comes at the end of Act Two to close the show.[1][2] Bricusse and Newley received the 1961 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[3] At the 1963 Grammy Awards, it won the award for Song of the Year and was the first by Britons to do so.

Background

This song was recorded whilst Newley was on the road with this production in the United States, after its successful run in the United Kingdom. By the time the cast reached New York, Tony Bennett had re-recorded the song.

Cover versions

Parodies and popular culture

Song legacy

This song was the inspiration for a Gary Larson cartoon depicting scientists examining human subjects with the caption "Yes, they're all fools, gentlemen... But the question remains, 'What KIND of fools are they?'".

References

  1. ^ itunes
  2. ^ allmusicals.com
  3. ^ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  4. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
  5. ^ Unterberger, R. "I'll Cry If I Want To". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  6. ^ http://www.discogs.com /sergio-franchi
  7. ^ George Maharis
  8. ^ "Original versions of What Kind of Fool Am I? By Perry Como | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
  9. ^ "Moon & Sand - Jacky Terrasson | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
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