"I Apologize" is a popular

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 written by Al Hoffman

Al Hoffman

Al Hoffman , a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984, was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today...

, Al Goodhart

Al Goodhart

Al Goodhart a member of ASCAP, was born in New York City and attended DeWitt Clinton High School. During his lifetime he was a radio announcer, vaudeville pianist and special materials writer. He also owned a theatrical agency. After his 1931 hit "I Apologize" he concentrated on composing music...

, and Ed Nelson. The song was published in 1931

1931 in music

-Events:*May 21 - RCA Victor's first commercially issued 33⅓ rpm record, "Salon Suite, No. 1" by The Victor Salon Orchestra, directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, was recorded*Roy Rogers' musical career begins*Mary Garden retires from the Chicago Opera...

.

Probably the best-known version of the song was recorded by Billy Eckstine

Billy Eckstine

William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...

. This recording was released by MGM Records

MGM Records

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

 as catalog number

Catalog numbering systems for single records

This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...

 10903. It first reached the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 Best Seller chart on February 23, 1951, and lasted 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at number eight.

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

 recorded the song for her album "The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin

The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging Aretha Franklin

"Aretha is a natural. No matter what she sings - new songs like Without the One You Love and Don't Cry, Baby or time-tested stadarts like Try a Little Tenderness and I Apologize - she is completely free, uninhibited and thrilling", Billy James, said."...Every step of the way, Aretha has grown. She...

" (1962).