In his book Cole Porter: A Biography, Charles Schwartz tells the story of how “I Love You,” introduced in the 1944 Broadway show Mexican Hayride, was written by Porter on a bet with actor Monty Woolley. “While Mexican Hayride was still in its formative stage, Woolley had challenged Cole to write a hit number titled ‘I Love You,’ in which that banal phrase would be repeated again and again. Woolley felt that even Cole’s gift with words and music would not be enough to surmount such a handicap and backed up that opinion with a small wager. Rising to the challenge (and at this point, Cole may have needed Woolley’s goading to bring out the best in him), Cole came up with a languid refrain whose lyrics begin:

‘I love you,’
Hums the April breeze.
‘I love you,’
Echo the hills.
‘I love you,’
The golden dawn agrees
As once more she sees daffodils.

As sung by big-voiced Wilbur Evans in the show, ‘I Love You’ quickly caught on, enabling Cole to win the wager while adding still another number--the only one in Mexican Hayride to become popular--to his long list of hit songs.”

Peter Gammond, author of The Oxford Companion to Popular Music, praised the song for its “...unusual degree of intimacy between the [music and lyrics].” In addition to placing first three times on the popular radio show Your Hit Parade, the song charted several times:

• Bing Crosby (1944, 18 weeks, remaining in first place for five weeks)
• Ernie Madriguera and His Orchestra (1944, three weeks, topping at #7)
• Jo Stafford (1944, with the Paul Weston Orchestra, six weeks, topping at #8)
• Perry Como (1944, three weeks, topping at #12)

Despite some harsh criticism of the show, the public succumbed to its gaiety, and it ran for 481 performances. It starred comic Bobby Clark as a numbers racketeer who flees to Mexico, Wilbur Evans as a “charge d’affaires,” and June Havoc as a lady bullfighter to whom Evans sings “I Love You.”

Melodically and harmonically “I Love You” has continued to interest jazz instrumentalists such as French horn player Tom Varner, bassists Red Mitchell and David Friesen, saxophonists Anthony Braxton and John Coltrane, pianist George Cables, drummer Art Blakey, and vibist Milt Jackson. Pianist Marian McPartland performed it on her 85th birthday celebration album in 2005.

The song appears to have been overlooked by contemporary singers. Although it has a long, beautiful verse, the melody is not a particularly easy one. Earlier vocalists such as Helen Merrill, Anita O’Day, Billy Eckstine, and Irene Kral performed it. Opera singer Jessye Norman recorded it in 1984, and jazz vocalist Jay Clayton included it in her 1995 album with pianist Fred Hersch, Beautiful Love.