Love Me or Leave Me
Words by Gus Kahn, Music by Walter Donaldson
Vocal by Sammy Fain
Recorded Feb. 6 1929
Diva 2843-G
Sammy Fain (1902 - 1989) was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to music. Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff pianist and composer for music publisher Jack Mills.
Fain also composed music for more than 30 films in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He was nominated for the best Original Song Oscar nine times, winning twice, with \"Secret Love\" from Calamity Jane in 1954 and with \"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing\" from the movie of the same title in 1955. He co-wrote both songs with Paul Francis Webster, another long-time collaborator. Fain wrote the second theme to the TV series Wagon Train in 1958, which was called \"(Roll Along) Wagon Train\". He also contributed to the song scores for the Walt Disney animated films Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and The Rescuers.
In 1963, he collaborated with Harold Adamson in writing songs for the movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet, which came out in 1964, and such songs as \"I Wish I Were a Fish\", \"Be Careful How You Wish\" and \"Deep Rapture\" enhanced his fame.
Fain died in 1989 in Los Angeles, California, and is interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in Emerson, New Jersey.
\"Love Me or Leave Me\" was written by Walter Donaldson and the lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was introduced in the Broadway play, Whoopee!, which opened in December 1928 and closed n November 1929. Ruth Etting's performance of the song was so popular that she was also given the song to sing in the play Simple Simon, which opened in February 1930.
The song was not included in the MGM film version of Whoopee! which was released in 1930.
