Leo Reisman - “Love Me Or Leave Me“ (1929)

“Love Me or Leave Me“ Music by Walter Donaldson Words by Gus Kahn Performed by Leo Reisman and His Orchestra Vocal by Ran Weeks Recorded April 22, 1929 Victor 21966 Leo Reisman was born in Boston, Massachussetts, in 1897, and soon became an accomplished violinist and piano player. Although he was first violinist with the Baltimore Symphony orchestra, he left classical music to form his own dance band, playing in hotels and touring the country before settling in 1919 at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston for ten years, where it played for the local high society. In 1929 the band moved to the Central Park Casino in New York and then to the Waldorf-Astoria for a considerable time. Big names associated with the band include pianists Nat Brandwynne and Eddy Duchin, and vocalists Lee Wiley, Fred Astaire and Dinah Shore. Reisman died in December 1961. This song was introduced in the Broadway play, “Whoopee!,“ which opened in December 1928. Ruth Etting’