Britain’s “Radio Sweetheart Number One,” singer Elsie Carlisle, introduced “What Is This Thing Called Love?” to the London Pavilion on March 27^th, 1929. The song was performed as part of Wake Up and Dream, a musical revue with words and music composed by Cole Porter and the book by John Hastings Turner.

The Wake Up and Dream score comprised over a dozen Porter songs, including “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love,” which was introduced the previous year in the musical Paris.

In addition to Elsie Carlisle, the revue also starred a young Jessie Matthews, (later to become one of Britain’s top musical comedy stage and screen stars), her husband and manager Sonnie Hale, and dancer-actress Tilly Losch. Wake Up and Dream ran on the London stage for 263 performances.

In the United States the Broadway production of Wake Up and Dream was met with mixed reviews. It opened on December 30, 1929, at the Selwyn Theatre and starred Jessie Matthews, Jack Buchanan, and Tilly Losch, with Frances Shelley singing “What Is This Thing Called Love.” The revue was cut short after only 136 performances.

The title Wake Up and Dream would later be used for films in 1934, 1942 (the British title for the American film What’s Cookin’), and 1947, the movies sharing nothing more than the title with the Cole Porter revue.

Leo Reisman and His Orchestra (Lew Conrad, vocal) would be the first artist to place “What Is This Thing Called Love” on the pop charts. On February 15, 1930, 11 months after its introduction, the song made its chart debut rising to number five.

Also making it onto the charts with “What Is This Thing Called Love?” were:

• Ben Bernie and His Orchestra (1930, #10)
• Fred Rich and His Orchestra (1930, #19)
• Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (1939, #15)
• Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Connie Haines, vocal, 1942, #13)
• Les Paul (electric guitar, 1948, #11)

Cole Porter claimed that “What Is This Thing Called Love?” with its innovative alternating major and minor key changes, was inspired by a Moroccan native dance. In the biography Cole: A Biographical Essay by Robert Kimball and Brendan Gill, the lyrics of the song are placed next to a picture of Tilly Losch and Toni Birkmayer in dance pose. Towering over them is William Cavanagh dressed as an African idol. This exotic costuming and dramatization would seem to reflect the supposed origin of the piece.