I Wo n't Dance - Wikipedia I Wo n't Dance `` I Wo n't Dance '' is a jazz standard song with music by Jerome Kern, that has had two different sets of lyrics, the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, the second written by Dorothy Fields ( though Jimmy McHugh was also credited ) in 1935. The two sets of lyrics share little but the common refrain of `` I wo n't dance ''. The second set of lyrics is the much better known one, and the song in this form has been covered by many artists. Kern, Hammerstein and Harbach originally wrote `` I Wo n't Dance '' for the 1934 London musical Three Sisters. However, Three Sisters flopped and was quickly forgotten. The next year, Fields was hired to help with the music for a film version of the 1933 Kern - Harbach musical Roberta. The writing team decided to make use of `` I Wo n't Dance '' for the film, also named Roberta. However, Fields rewrote nearly all of the lyrics, making the song more playful and suggestive by having the narrator refuse to dance because `` I know that music leads the way to romance ''. The song became such a hit, largely due to the fact that it was performed by Fred Astaire, that it is now included in all stage revivals and recordings of Roberta. Contents 1 Notable recordings 2 In film and television 3 References 4 External links Notable recordings 1952 : Kaye Ballard & Jack Cassidy -- Roberta Studio Cast Recording 1956 : Anita O'Day -- Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day 1956 : Carmen Cavallaro -- Eddy Duchin Remembered 1957 : Frank Sinatra -- A Swingin ' Affair ! ( and Sinatra - Basie, 1962 ) 1957 : Blossom Dearie -- Blossom Dearie ( Et Tu Bruce ; 1984 ) 1960 ; Margaret Whiting -- Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook 1961 : Ella Fitzgerald -- Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson 1963 : Peggy Lee -- Mink Jazz 1970 : Jula de Palma -- Jula al Sistina 1973 : The Pasadena Roof Orchestra -- The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra 1993 : David Silverman Trio ( I Have Dreamed CD ) Chase Music Group -- Los Angeles, CA 1994 : Sylvia McNair with André Previn and David Finck -- Sure Thing : The Jerome Kern Songbook 1997 : Susannah McCorkle -- The People That You Never Get To Love 1997 : Barbara Cook -- Oscar Winners : The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein, II 1999 : Stacey Kent -- Let Yourself Go : Celebrating Fred Astaire 1999 : Busdriver -- `` I Wo n't Dance '' 2002 : Will Young -- Pop Idol : The Big Band Album 2004 : Jane Monheit and Michael Bublé -- Taking a Chance on Love 2007 : Richard Rodney Bennett -- Words and Music 2009 : Jessica Lange and Malcolm Gets -- their duet recorded in common for the soundtrack Grey Gardens 2010 : Sarah McKenzie -- Do n't Tempt Me ( 2011 ), We Could Be Lovers ( 2014 ). 2014 : Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett -- Cheek to Cheek 2015 : Jamie Parker with John Wilson Orchestra - Celebrating Frank Sinatra ( DVD ) In film and television The song is anachronistically used as a musical number performed by Felicia Day in the television film biography of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warm Springs, which largely takes place in the year 1924. The song was also performed by Lucille Bremer and Van Johnson for the 1946 Kern biopic Till the Clouds Roll By. Since the scene takes place in a 1920s nightclub, its appearance in the chronology of the film is, again, anachronistic. The song was sung and danced to by Marge Champion and Gower Champion in the 1952 film `` Lovely to Look At ''. The version of the song by Frank Sinatra was in a scene in the movie What Women Want, where the character Nick, played by Mel Gibson, is dancing with a coat hanger. References Jump up ^ Taylor, John Russell ; Jackson, Arthur ( 1971 ). The Hollywood Musical. New York : McGraw - Hill. pp. 28 -- 29. Jump up ^ `` Memoirs of the Elephant Man ( 1999 ) > ''. Jump up ^ `` Grey Gardens ( 2005 ) > Soundtrack ''. Internet Movie Database. IMDb. imdb.com. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 31. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics This 1930s song article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Won%27t_Dance&oldid=821290263 '' Categories : Pop standards Songs with music by Jerome Kern Songs with lyrics by Otto Harbach Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Ella Fitzgerald songs Frank Sinatra songs Fred Astaire songs 1934 songs Songs about dancing 1930s song stubs Talk Contents About Wikipedia Norsk Edit links This page was last edited on 19 January 2018, at 15 : 23. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song i won't dance
Answer: Jerome Kern