| Composer | Johnny Mercer |
| Lyricist | Sadie Vimmerstedt, Johnny Mercer |
| Year Written | 1959 |
About This Song
“I Wanna Be Around” was written in 1959 by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt.
Sadie Vimmerstedt was a hairdresser in Youngstown, Ohio. She was a big fan of Frank Sinatra until 1950, when he left his wife Nancy for Ava Gardner. When Gardner left Sinatra in 1957, she began to think of Nancy Sinatra and how she must be feeling and said to herself “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces where somebody breaks your heart.” She then thought that it sounded like a Johnny Mercer song, so she wrote it down, put it in an envelope, and mailed to Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, New York.” The post office forwarded the letter to the American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), who passed it on to Mercer. Mercer wrote the music and finished out the lyrics. He granted Vimmerstedt 50% ownership. The royalties made her a wealthy woman.
View the lyrics
I wanna be around to pick up the pieces
When somebody breaks your heart
Some somebody twice as smart as I
A somebody who will swear to be true
As you used to do with me
Who’ll leave you to learn
That misery loves company, wait and see
I mean, I want to be around to see how he does it
When he breaks your heart to bits
Let’s see if the puzzle fits so fine
And that’s when I’ll discover that revenge is sweet
As I sit there applauding from a front-row seat
When somebody breaks your heart like you broke mine
I mean, I want to be around to see how he does it
When he breaks your heart to bits
Let’s see if the puzzle fits so fine
And that’s when I’ll discover that revenge is sweet
As I sit there applauding from a front-row seat
When somebody breaks your heart like you, like you broke mine
Recordings
1962
Tony Bennett recorded “I Wanna Be Around” on October 19, 1962. Marty Manning wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.
CO 76857
Release History
| 1962 | Columbia 45: 13-33062 |
| 1962 | Columbia 45: 4-42634 |
1963 to 1990
| 1963 | Columbia LP 12″: CS 8800 — I Wanna Be Around |
| 1963 | Columbia LP 12″ (Mono): CL 2000 — I Wanna Be Around |
| 1963 | Columbia LP 12″: P 13575 — I Wanna Be Around |
| 1963 | CBS LP 12″: SBPG 62149 — I Wanna Be Around (UK) |
| 1965 | CBS 45: 201733 |
| 1965 | Columbia LP 12″: CL 2373 — Tony’s Greatest Hits, Vol. III |
| 1965 | Columbia LP 12″: CL 2373 — Tony’s Greatest Hits, Vol. III |
| 1967 | CBS LP 12″: SBPG 62821 — Tony’s Greatest Hits [UK] |
| 1970 | Columbia LP 12″: C 30240 — Sings His All-Time Hall Of Fame Hits |
| 1972 | CBS LP 12″: CBS 68200 — All-Time Greatest Hits [UK] |
| 1972 | Columbia LP 12″: KG 31494 — All-Time Greatest Hits |
| 1976 | Columbia Special Products LP 12″: P2 13788 — Those Fabulous 50’s |
| 1976 | Warwick LP 12″: PR 5021 — The Very Best Of Tony Bennett: 20 Greatest Hits [UK] |
| 1976 | Warwick/CBS LP 12″: CBS 5021 — The Very Best Of Tony Bennett: 20 Greatest Hits [UK] |
| 1982 | CBS Special Products CD: — My Best To You |
| 1983 | CBS Special Products LP 12″: P 16655 — My Best To You |
| 1986 | Columbia CD: — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 1986 | CBS/Sony CD: 32DP-558 — 16 Most Requested Songs [Japan] |
1990 to current
| 1990 | Columbia/Legacy CD: CK-40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 1990 | Columbia/Legacy CD: 40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 1990 | Columbia CD: 40215 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 1991 | Columbia CD: CSK 4083 — Forty Years: The Artistry Of Tony Bennett (Promo) |
| 1991 | Columbia House Music Collection CD: C22 8017 — The Great American Composers: Johnny Mercer |
| 1991 | Columbia CD: C4K 46843 — Forty Years – The Artistry Of Tony Bennett |
| 1992 | Sony Mid-Price CD: 4724182 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 1993 | MCA CD: MSD-35371 — Your Hit Parade – The Early ’60s |
| 1993 | CBS/Sony CD: SRCS-6641 — Forty Years: The Artistry Of Tony Bennett |
| 1993 | Rhino/Wea CD: R2 71504 — Great American Songwriters, Vol. 2: Johnny Mercer |
| 1994 | Smithsonian CD: RD 048-11 — American Songbook Series: Johnny Mercer |
| 1994 | Smithsonian Collection CD: A 24117 — American Songbook Series: Johnny Mercer |
| 1995 | Sony Special Products CD: 16655 — My Best To You |
| 1995 | Sony Special Products CD: 58257 — My Best To You |
| 1995 | Columbia CD: CK 66504 — I Wanna Be Around |
| 1997 | Columbia CD: CK 65316 — All-Time Greatest Hits |
| 1997 | Eclipse Music Group CD: 64859 — My Best To You |
| 1997 | Columbia CD: CK 65405 — Sings His All-Time Hall of Fame Hits |
| 1999 | Sony International CD: 91207 — The Essential Tony Bennett: A Retrospective |
| 2000 | Columbia/Legacy CD: CK 63570 — The Ultimate Tony Bennett |
| 2000 | Sony Music CD: 63570 — The Ultimate Tony Bennett |
| 2001 | Sony Music CD: SRCS-9093 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 2002 | Collectables CD: 9870 — My Best To You |
| 2002 | Columbia/Legacy CD: 86634 — The Essential Tony Bennett |
| 2004 | Columbia/Legacy CD: C5K 92784 — Fifty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett |
| 2005 | Sony Music CD: 4721952 — 16 Most Requested Songs |
| 2006 | RPM/Columbia/Legacy CD: 84779 — Tony Bennett’s Greatest Hits Of The ’60s |
| 2008 | Columbia/RPM/Legacy CD: 731397 — The Essential Tony Bennett [Limited Edition 3.0] |
| 2011 | Columbia: The Complete Collection — Disc 26 — I Wanna Be Around |
| 2013 | Columbia — Sixty Years: The Artistry of Tony Bennett |
1971
Tony Bennett recorded “I Wanna Be Around” live on January 31, 1971, at The Royal Albert Hall in London. Robert Fanon conducted the orchestra.
Release History
| 1971 | Columbia: LP 12″: C 30953 — Get Happy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 2013 | Columbia: The Complete Collection — Disc 42 — Get Happy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra |