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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

(I Would Do) Anything for You

1932 song by Alex Hill, Claude Hopkins, and Bob Williams

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 12, 2025
Entity authorityQ4778350 ↗
Source-derived summary

(I Would Do) Anything for You is a 1932 jazz standard. It was written by Alex Hill, Claude Hopkins and Bob Williams.

The first recording was by Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra (with Ovie Alston on lead vocals) on May 24, 1932 for Columbia Records (No. 2665D).

Other recordings

There have been many instrumental versions of the tune, notably by:

Benny Goodman (1936)

Art Tatum (1934).

Mokave (1991)

Significant vocal versions include:

Una Mae Carlisle, 1938-05-20, recorded in London. Track #2 of 6 recorded by Una Mae Carlisle and Her Jam Band in her first ever recording session.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “(I Would Do) Anything for You” as 1932 song by Alex Hill, Claude Hopkins, and Bob Williams. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Would, Anything and song.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1932, 1936, 1934, 1991—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1932. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Would, Anything and song providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “(I Would Do) Anything for You”, the useful work is to connect “1932 song by Alex Hill, Claude Hopkins, and Bob Williams” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4778350. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932, 1936, 1934 and 1991.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “(I Would Do) Anything for You”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow (I Would Do) Anything for You primary sources, (I Would Do) Anything for You archive and Would research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “(I Would Do) Anything for You”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “(I Would Do) Anything for You” 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.