“My Baby Just Cares For Me” by Nina Simone

This song is centered on the strong affection the singer’s lover has for her. The titular “just” refers to the fact that he “cares for” her exclusively, as in not being concerned with anything else. So even some of the things that appeal to normal men, such as entertainment, “cars” and “clothes” have no sway over him. 

Moreover even the most-luxurious women do not catch his eye. Rather his only preoccupation is his woman, the singer. In fact his extreme level of single-mindedness even has her “wonder(ing) what’s wrong” with her boo. But overall this track has a playful tone, as in the singer celebrating the fact that she has such a committed partner.

Facts about “My Baby Just Cares For Me”

• “My Baby Just Cares For Me” was written by composer Walter Donaldson (1893-1947) and lyricist Gus Kahn (1886). It was written specifically for the 1930 movie Whoopee!
• Nina Simone’s rendition was featured on her maiden album titled Little Girl Blue. It was released by Bethlehem Records on 24 June 1958.
• Some three decades after its debut, “My Baby Just Cares for Me” received new life due to being featured in a Chanel No. 5 commercial (which was actually directed by Ridley Scott) in the United Kingdom in 1987. Accordingly, the song was re-released it as a single, and it peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It also went as far as to top the Dutch Top 40.
• During that same year, Aardman Animations released a music video for the song which featured Nina Simone depicted as a cat.
• Production credits for this song go to Ron Berinstein, Miriam Cutler and David Kreisberg.