Be Anything (but Be Mine)
single by Connie Francis
"Be Anything (but Be Mine)" is a popular song composed by Irving Gordon, which was published in 1952.
Recorded versions
The most successful version of the song was that by Eddy Howard was released as Mercury 5815, which reached number 13 in the spring of 1952.The song marked the debut release of Peggy Lee on Decca Records, being recorded on April 3, 1952 and issued on Decca (catalog number 8142). This version reached number 21.
A version by Champ Butler (Columbia 39690) reached No. 26.
A version by Helen O'Connell (Capitol 2011) (number 30)
Mercury Records also cut a version for the R&B market with Wini Brown & her Boyfriends; released as Mercury 8270, the track reportedly featured the Ravens as the male chorale.
Ruth Brown also recorded "Be Anything (but be Mine)" (Atlantic 2015) but her version was relegated to the B-side of the track "5-10-15 Hours".
Gloria Lynne recorded "Be Anything (but Be Mine)" early in 1964 as her debut release on Mercury Records' Fontana label (Fontana 1890). The track entered the Hot 100 in April 1964, but rose no higher than number 88, its hit potential stymied by a lawsuit which barred the sales of any Fontana releases by Lynne, the singer's prior label Everest Records contending to still have Lynne contractually obligated. Fontana was prevented from releasing product by Lynne until February 1965, when her version of "Be Anything (but Be Mine)" made its album debut on her album Intimate Moments.
The public source identifies “Be Anything (but Be Mine)” as single by Connie Francis. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Anything, Mine and single.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4875469. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1952, 2011, 2015 and 1964.
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This entry incorporates text from “Be Anything (but Be Mine)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.