I'm a Fool to Want You is a 1951 pop and jazz ballad written by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron. The original artist is Frank Sinatra, who co-wrote the lyrics and released it as a Columbia Records single in 1951; it was first recorded in New York on March 27, 1951 with the Ray Charles Singers, arranged by Axel Stordahl. The song tells of longing for a love that cannot be true, a melancholy torch song that Sinatra made famous during a turbulent period in his personal life. A second version was recorded in 1957 for Capitol Records and appears on the album Where Are You? marking Sinatra’s first stereo recording. The tune has become a standard of pop and jazz and has been covered by many artists including Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan, remaining a fixture in Sinatra compilations and other artists’ repertoires.
