"Please Be Kind" is an English-language popular song with music by Saul Chaplin and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was written in 1938 and published the same year, and it became a popular jazz and pop standard.
Several recordings appeared in 1938 itself. Mildred Bailey recorded it with the Red Norvo Orchestra on 10 February for Brunswick, Bob Crosby and His Orchestra featured a vocal by Kay Weber, and Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, with a vocal by Martha Tilton, recorded it for Victor in March. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band also recorded it in February 1938. Later versions include Ella Fitzgerald (1954), Peggy Lee (1957), Johnny Mathis (1959), Sarah Vaughan (1959), Ann-Margret's 1961 debut album, and Frank Sinatra with Count Basie (1962). Art Tatum recorded it as an instrumental, and it is also widely played without a vocal, by Duke Ellington and Nelson Riddle among others.
