Well, Did You Evah!
1991 song performed by Bing Crosby
"Well, Did You Evah!" is a song written by Cole Porter for his 1939 musical DuBarry Was a Lady, where it was introduced by Betty Grable and Charles Walters. It is written as a duet, with the pair exchanging bad news and each shrugging off the other's tidbits in favor of an aloof good time.
Notable uses
Originally appears in Broadway musical DuBarry Was a Lady (1939).
Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the movie High Society (recorded January 17, 1956). Likely the most well-known version of the song, it was added to the movie late in development, to give the two stars an opportunity to sing together.
Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop recorded the song in 1990 for Red Hot + Blue, a compilation album released as part of an HIV/AIDS benefit project. Released as a single in the UK on December 24, 1990 but not the US. The single reached No. 42 in the UK Singles Chart, and No. 29 in the Irish chart.
Revivals of DuBarry or its score were produced in New York, London and San Francisco in 1993, 1996, 2001, and 2014.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Well, Did You Evah!” is 1991 song performed by Bing Crosby. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Well, Evah and song, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1991 song performed by Bing Crosby” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7981042. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1939, 1956, 1990 and 1993.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Well, Did You Evah!” 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.