Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off - Wikipedia Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off `` Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off '' is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The song is most famous for its `` You like to - may - toes / təˈmeɪtoʊz / and I like to - mah - toes / təˈmɑːtoʊz / '' and other verses comparing their different regional dialects. The differences in pronunciation are not simply regional, however, but serve more specifically to identify class differences. At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less `` refined '' by the upper - class, and there was a specific emphasis on the `` broader '' a sound. This class distinction with respect to pronunciation has been retained in caricatures, especially in the theater, where the longer a pronunciation is most strongly associated with the word `` darling. '' The song was ranked No. 34 on AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Songs. Notable recordings Fred Astaire with Johnny Green & His Orchestra ( 1937 ) Billie Holiday -- Lady Day : The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933 -- 1944 ( 1937 ) Sam Cooke -- Tribute to the Lady ( 1959 ) Ella Fitzgerald -- on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook ( 1959 ), on the 1983 Pablo release Nice Work If You Can Get It, and in a 1957 duet with Louis Armstrong on Ella and Louis Again. Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded the song for their radio show in 1960 and it was subsequently released on the CD Bing & Rosie - The Crosby - Clooney Radio Sessions ( 2010 ). Brian Wilson -- Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin ( 2010 ) Uri Caine -- Rhapsody in Blue ( 2013 ) The song has been re-used in filmmaking and television production, most notably in When Harry Met Sally... -- where it is performed by Harry Connick, Jr. -- and The Simpsons. It was featured in the 2012 Broadway Musical Nice Work If You Can Get It. References Jump up ^ `` Shall We Dance ''. 7 May 1937 -- via IMDb. Jump up ^ `` Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off -- Lyrics -- Ella Fitzgerald ''. Bluesforpeace.com. Retrieved 2011 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ Flexner, Stuart Berg ( 1982 ). Listening to America : an illustrated history of words and phrases from our lively and splendid past. Simon and Schuster. p. 511. Jump up ^ Dunkling, Leslie ( 1990 ). A dictionary of epithets and terms of address. Routledge. p. 86. Jump up ^ `` America 's Greatest Music in the Movies '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2011 - 07 - 16. Retrieved 2011 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Astaire on 78 ''. America.net. Archived from the original on 2011 - 09 - 27. Retrieved 2011 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ `` Ella Fitzgerald Discography -- Part 2 -- The Verve Years part 1 ''. Ellafitzgerald.altervista.org. Archived from the original on 2011 - 09 - 29. Retrieved 2011 - 10 - 04. Jump up ^ `` A Bing Crosby Discography ''. BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` allmusic.com ''. allmusic.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017. External links Let 's Call The Whole Thing Off Lyrics at metrolyrics.com/ George Gershwin Albums Gershwin Plays Gershwin : The Piano Rolls Ballets An American in Paris Gershwin Piano Concerto Three Preludes Who Cares ? List of stagings Operas Blue Monday ( 1922 ) Porgy and Bess ( 1935 ) Orchestral works Rhapsody in Blue ( 1924 ) Concerto in F ( 1925 ) An American in Paris ( 1928 ) Second Rhapsody ( 1931 ) Cuban Overture ( 1932 ) Strike Up the Band ( 1934 ) Hoctor 's Ballet ( 1937 ) Piano compositions Three Preludes ( 1926 ) French Ballet Class ( 1937 ) Songs `` Are n't You Kind Of Glad We Did ? '' `` ( I 've Got ) Beginner 's Luck '' `` Bidin ' My Time '' `` Blah Blah Blah '' `` Boy Wanted '' `` Boy ! What Love Has Done To Me ! '' `` But Not for Me '' `` By Strauss '' `` Clap Yo ' Hands '' `` Do It Again '' `` Doin ' Time '' `` Embraceable You '' `` Fascinating Rhythm '' `` A Foggy Day '' `` For You, For Me, For Evermore '' `` Funny Face '' `` ' The Half of It, Dearie ' Blues '' `` He Loves and She Loves '' `` How Long Has This Been Going On ? '' `` I Ca n't Be Bothered Now '' `` I Got Rhythm '' `` I Was Doing All Right '' `` I 've Got a Crush on You '' `` Is n't It a Pity ? '' `` Just Another Rhumba '' `` Let 's Call the Whole Thing Off '' `` Let 's Kiss and Make Up '' `` Liza ( All the Clouds 'll Roll Away ) '' `` Looking for a Boy '' `` Lorelei '' `` Love Is Here to Stay '' `` Love is Sweeping the Country '' `` Love Walked In '' `` The Man I Love '' `` My Cousin in Milwaukee '' `` My One and Only '' `` Nice Work If You Can Get It '' `` Of Thee I Sing '' `` Oh, Lady Be Good ! '' `` Oh, So Nice ! '' `` The Real American Folk Song ( is a Rag ) '' `` 'S Wonderful '' `` Sam and Delilah '' `` Slap That Bass '' `` Somebody from Somewhere '' `` Somebody Loves Me '' `` Someone to Watch Over Me '' `` Soon '' `` Stairway to Paradise '' `` Stiff Upper Lip '' `` Strike Up the Band '' `` Summertime '' `` Swanee '' `` That Certain Feeling '' `` They All Laughed '' `` They Ca n't Take That Away from Me '' `` Things Are Looking Up '' `` Tra - la - la '' `` Treat Me Rough '' `` Walking the Dog '' `` Who Cares ? '' `` You 've Got What Gets Me '' Tribute albums Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin By George Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book Ella Sings Gershwin Gershwin Live ! Gershwin 's World The Glory of Gershwin Ira, George and Joe Nice Work If You Can Get It Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook Red Hot + Rhapsody : The Gershwin Groove Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gershwin Related articles Gershwin Prize Ira Gershwin ( brother ) Arthur Gershwin ( brother ) Frances Gershwin ( sister ) Gershwin Theatre List of compositions by George Gershwin Category : George Gershwin This pop standards - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Call_the_Whole_Thing_Off&oldid=816491034 '' Categories : Pop standard stubs 1937 songs Songs written for films Songs with music by George Gershwin Songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin Vocal duets Louis Armstrong songs Talk About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Norsk Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 21 December 2017, at 18 : 17. 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Question: who wrote the song let's call the whole thing off
Answer: George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin