# Button Up Your Overcoat > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Button_Up_Your_Overcoat > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Button_Up_Your_Overcoat.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Up_Your_Overcoat > Source revision: 1353584001 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **"Button Up Your Overcoat"** is a [popular](/source/Popular_music) [song](/source/Song). The music was written by [Ray Henderson](/source/Ray_Henderson), the lyrics by [B.G. DeSylva](/source/B.G._DeSylva) and [Lew Brown](/source/Lew_Brown). The song was published in [1928](/source/1928_in_music) and was first performed later that same year by vocalist [Ruth Etting](/source/Ruth_Etting). However, the most famous rendition of this song was recorded early the following year by singer [Helen Kane](/source/Helen_Kane), who was at the peak of her popularity at the time. Kane's childlike voice and Bronx dialect eventually became the inspiration for cartoon character [Betty Boop](/source/Betty_Boop), most famously using Kane's catchphrase "Boop Boop a Doop." From January 9, 1929, to December 21, 1929, [Jack Haley](/source/Jack_Haley) and [Zelma O'Neal](/source/Zelma_O'Neal) sang "Button Up Your Overcoat" on Broadway in the musical, [*Follow Thru*](/source/Follow_Thru_(musical)). They reprised the song in the [film version](/source/Follow_Thru) which opened on September 27, 1930, and was one of the first movies in Technicolor. ## Other recordings - [Paul Whiteman](/source/Paul_Whiteman) (vocal by [Vaughn De Leath](/source/Vaughn_De_Leath)) (1929)[1] - [Fred Waring](/source/Fred_Waring)'s Pennsylvanians (1929)[2] - [Johnny Mercer](/source/Johnny_Mercer) (1946)[3] - [The Hi-Lo's](/source/The_Hi-Lo's) included the song on their album *I Presume* (1955). - [Carol Channing](/source/Carol_Channing) on her album *Jazz Baby* (1994) - [Nancy Sinatra](/source/Nancy_Sinatra) covered the song for the 1966 album *[Sugar](/source/Sugar_(Nancy_Sinatra_album))* - [Bing Crosby](/source/Bing_Crosby) recorded the song in 1956[4] for use on his [radio show](/source/The_Bing_Crosby_Show_(1954%E2%80%931956)) and it was subsequently included in the box set *The Bing Crosby CBS Radio Recordings (1954-56)* issued by [Mosaic Records](/source/Mosaic_Records) (catalog MD7-245) in 2009.[5] - [John Serry, Sr.](/source/John_Serry,_Sr.) with his ensemble for [Dot Records](/source/Dot_Records) (catalog #DLP-3024) for a 33 RPM vinyl recording entitled *[Squeeze Play](/source/Squeeze_Play_(album))* in 1956.[6][7] - [Eydie Gorme](/source/Eydie_Gorme) – included in her album *Eydie Gormé – Vamps The Roaring 20's* (1958) - The [Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band](/source/Bonzo_Dog_Doo-Dah_Band) recorded a version as the B-side of their 1966 single "[Alley Oop](/source/Alley_Oop_(song))". - [Connie Francis](/source/Connie_Francis) – for her album *[Connie & Clyde – Hit Songs of the 30s](/source/Connie_%26_Clyde_%E2%80%93_Hit_Songs_of_the_30s)* (1968) ## Film appearances - 1930 *[Follow Thru](/source/Follow_Thru)* – sung by Jack Haley and Zelma O'Neal - 1946 *[Margie](/source/Margie_(1946_film))* – sung by [Rudy Vallee](/source/Rudy_Vallee), [Barbara Lawrence](/source/Barbara_Lawrence) - 1956 [Gordon MacRae](/source/Gordon_MacRae) sang "Button Up Your Overcoat" in the movie *[The Best Things in Life Are Free](/source/The_Best_Things_in_Life_Are_Free_(film))*. - 1971 *[Loving Memory](/source/Loving_Memory)* - 1974 *[The Front Page](/source/The_Front_Page_(1974_film))* – sung by [Susan Sarandon](/source/Susan_Sarandon) - 1985 *[The Sure Thing](/source/The_Sure_Thing)* – two characters sing "Button Up Your Overcoat" as part of a medley of show tunes during a road trip. The song also appears on the film's soundtrack. - 1996 *[Jack](/source/Jack_(1996_film))* - 2011 *[Water for Elephants](/source/Water_for_Elephants_(film))* – performed by Ruth Etting. - 2012 *[Parental Guidance](/source/Parental_Guidance_(film))* - 2019 *[Dolemite Is My Name](/source/Dolemite_Is_My_Name)* – performed by Ruth Etting ## In popular culture In 1969, the song was parodied in a television commercial for *[Contac](/source/Contac)* cold capsules. In that commercial, a group of blonde chorus girls known as "The Cold Diggers of 1969" sing and dance to "Button Up Your Overcoat" in a *[Busby Berkeley](/source/Busby_Berkeley)*- style production number. Father Mulcahy and Hawkeye sing "Button Up Your Overcoat" in episode 20, season 6 of M*A*S*H, "Mail Call Three". In 1997, the Kidsongs Kids and the Biggles sang "Button Up Your Overcoat" as part of the *[Kidsongs](/source/Kidsongs): I Can Do It!* VHS/DVD. Helen Kane's 1929 cover of the song appears anachronistically in the 2013 video game *[BioShock Infinite](/source/BioShock_Infinite)*, set in 1912, and can be heard in the Downtown Emporia level.[8] The song was added to the 1993 revision of the musical *[Good News](/source/Good_News_(musical))*. ## References 1. Whitburn, Joel (1986). [*Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954*](https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/451). Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. [451](https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/451). ISBN 0-89820-083-0. 1. Whitburn, Joel (1986). [*Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954*](https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/438). Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. [438](https://archive.org/details/joelwpopmemories00whit/page/438). ISBN 0-89820-083-0. 1. ["allaboutjazz.com/"](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/johnny-mercer-johnny-mercer-mosaic-records-review-by-suzanne-lorge.php). *allaboutjazz.com/*. 13 December 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2017. 1. ["A Bing Crosby Discography"](http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/CBS.html). *BING magazine*. International Club Crosby. Retrieved November 29, 2017. 1. ["allmusic.com"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bing-crosby-cbs-radio-recordings-1954-56-mw0001951404). *allmusic.com*. Retrieved November 29, 2017. 1. ["Dot Album Discography, Part 2 (1955-1960)"](http://bsnpubs.com/dot/dotb.html). *bsnpubs.com* 1. [*Squeeze Play* album by John Serry performing "Button Up Your Overcoat" on worldcat.org](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12935411) 1. ["BioShock Infinite Soundtrack Music Credits"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140423194043/http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/music). *bioshockinfinite.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.bioshockinfinite.com/music) on 23 April 2014. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Button Up Your Overcoat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Up_Your_Overcoat) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_Up_Your_Overcoat?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.