"How Important Can It Be?" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss, and published in 1955.

Background

The lyrics of the song find the narrator asking her lover why her indiscretions with other boyfriends before him matter at all, now that she loves him so and vows to be true to him.

Joni James recording

It was popularized in 1955 by Joni James. The song was first presented to James by the music publisher Tommy Valando, according to her international fan club president Wayne Brasler of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. James recorded it at her first session in New York City, after moving from her hometown of Chicago, with arranger David Terry. However, after listening to the playback she and her career director and future husband Tony Acquaviva felt, in her words, "something was missing." She came up with the idea of a shuffle beat and male chorus in the style of The Four Aces, and she re-made the song at her next session. When released as a single in 1955, it reached No. 2 in the Billboard charts during a 16-week stay and became a gold record. Joni James re-recorded the song in 2009 on her album, Essential Masters.

Other recordings

Popular culture