The Best Things in Life Are Free is a popular song with music by Ray Henderson and lyrics by Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown. It was written for the Broadway musical Good News, with a book by Laurence Schwab and B.G. DeSylva, which was a hit and the biggest of the team's string of topical musicals. The song was published in 1927 by De Sylva, Brown and Henderson. In the original production, Tom and Connie sing it as a duet; after a difficult start to their study sessions, they find they share similar philosophies of life. It is reprised in Act II, when Connie helps Tom recover after his fumble in the big game. Early chart recordings in 1927 were made by George Olsen and His Music, with Bob Borger on vocals, and by Frank Black. A second wave of popularity came between 1947 and 1950, when many artists recorded it, including Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore, The Ink Spots, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. The song appears in both Good News films, of 1930 and 1947, and in The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), where Sheree North sings it and Eileen Wilson provides the dubbed voice. It is also heard in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and in season 7 of Mad Men (2014). It entered the US public domain on 1 January 2023.
