What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me for ? - Wikipedia What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me for ? `` What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For ? '' Song Written 1916 Songwriter ( s ) Joseph McCarthy Howard Johnson James V. Monaco `` What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For ? '' is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916. It was released in 1917 by Ada Jones and Billy Murray on Victor Records ( catalogue number 18224 ). Contents 1 Versions 2 Chart positions 3 See also 4 References Versions It became a UK hit in 1959 when a doo - wop version, produced by Michael Barclay, became a number one hit for Emile Ford and the Checkmates over the Christmas and New Year of 1959 / 60, having overtaken Adam Faith 's ' What Do You Want ? '. Its stay in the UK Singles Chart began on 31 October 1959 and lasted 17 weeks. The last chart - topper of the 1950s, it retained the number one position for the first three weeks of 1960 until it was replaced by Michael Holliday 's ' Starry Eyed ' on 29 January 1960. The 1945 film Nob Hill, starring George Raft, Joan Bennett and Peggy Ann Garner, featured Vivian Blaine singing this song. The 1950 film Wabash Avanue, starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature and Phil Harris, had used the chorus as a transition between scenes, following `` I 've Been Floating Down the Old Green River '' In 1960, Danish rock singer Otto Brandenburg recorded a cover of the song that gave him his breakthrough on the Danish music scene. The song was also successfully covered by Shakin ' Stevens in 1987. This version first entered the charts on 28 November 1987. It spent eight weeks there and peaked at No. 5. In 1963, Italian singer Don Backy recorded another cover of the song, using Italian lyrics, under the title `` Ho rimasto ''. The title is intentionally grammatically wrong ( it should have been `` Sono rimasto '' ) to catch public attention. Les Gray 's 1977 recording is on Warner Bros. Records K 17007. Swedish singer Christer Sjögren released recorded the song on his 2008 album Mitt sköna sextiotal. Chart positions Chart ( 1959 / 1960 ) Peak position Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) Norway ( VG - lista ) UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) See also 1950s portal List of number - one singles from the 1950s ( UK ) List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s List of number - one singles in Australia during the 1960s List of number - one hits in Norway References Specific Jump up ^ Copyright 1916 Leo Feist Inc., USA. Sub-published Francis Day & Hunter Ltd., U.K. Jump up ^ `` Victor 18224 ''. Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Records. University of California, Santa Barbara Library. Retrieved 30 November 2011. ^ Jump up to : Rice, Jo ( 1982 ). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits ( 1st ed. ). Enfield, Middlesex : Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 47. ISBN 0 - 85112 - 250 - 7. Jump up ^ `` ChartArchive - The Chart Archive ''. Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 04. Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 530. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Les Gray - What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For ( Vinyl ) at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Mitt sköna sextiotal / Christer Sjögren '' ( in Swedish ). Svensk mediedatabas. 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- EMILE FORD & THE CHECKMATES -- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE EYES AT ME FOR ? '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 9, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- EMILE FORD & THE CHECKMATES -- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THOSE EYES AT ME FOR ? ''. VG - lista. Retrieved September 9, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2013. General Nostalgia Book of Hit * Singles by Jimmy Saville and Tony Jasper ( page 60, 1st pub. in G.B. in 1982 by Frederick Muller Ltd. ) Rock File 4 edited by Charlie Gillett & Simon Firth ( page 167, 1st pub. 1976 by Panther Books Ltd., Frogmore, St Albans, Herts. U.K. ) Ada Jones Singles `` Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine '' `` Shine On, Harvest Moon '' `` The Yama Yama Man '' `` My Pony Boy '' `` I 've Got Rings On My Fingers '' `` Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly ? '' `` By the Light of the Silvery Moon '' `` Come, Josephine, in My Flying Machine '' `` Be My Little Baby Bumble Bee '' `` By the Beautiful Sea '' `` What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For ? '' `` M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I '' `` Some Sunday Morning '' Related articles Discography Songs Book : Ada Jones UK Christmas number - one singles in the 1950s `` Here in My Heart '' ( Al Martino, 1952 ) `` Answer Me '' ( Frankie Laine, 1953 ) `` Let 's Have Another Party '' ( Winifred Atwell, 1954 ) `` Christmas Alphabet '' ( Dickie Valentine, 1955 ) `` Just Walkin ' in the Rain '' ( Johnnie Ray, 1956 ) `` Mary 's Boy Child '' ( Harry Belafonte, 1957 ) `` It 's Only Make Believe '' ( Conway Twitty, 1958 ) `` What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For ? '' ( Emile Ford & The Checkmates, 1959 ) Complete list 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=What_Do_You_Want_to_Make_Those_Eyes_at_Me_For%3F&oldid=847147244 '' Categories : Christmas number - one singles in the United Kingdom 1916 songs 1959 singles 1960 singles 1987 singles UK Singles Chart number - one singles Number - one singles in Australia Number - one singles in Norway Songs with lyrics by Joseph McCarthy ( lyricist ) Songs with lyrics by Howard Johnson ( lyricist ) Songs with music by James V. Monaco Hidden categories : CS1 Swedish - language sources ( sv ) Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for UK Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Talk Contents About Wikipedia Norsk Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 23 June 2018, at 07 : 27 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sang what do you want to make them eyes at me for
Answer: Ada Jones