Let's Face the Music and Dance is a 1936 jazz-pop standard written by Irving Berlin for the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film Follow the Fleet. It was published January 10, 1936 and released as a single in February 1936, with Fred Astaire performing with Johnny Greene's Orchestra. The song is famous for its Swing-influenced melody and the celebrated dance sequence in the film, and it helped popularize jazz on the silver screen. Over the years it has been covered by many artists including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga; Nat King Cole’s version also gained renewed visibility in the 1990s through advertising. In 2014 Bennett and Gaga’s rendition topped Billboard charts and won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, underscoring the tune’s enduring appeal. The title line, Let’s face the music and dance, signals a message of resilience and making the best of difficult times.
