What I Did for Love (A Chorus Line)

"What I Did for Love" is a song from the musical A Chorus Line (music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban). It was quickly recognized for its show-business potential outside Broadway and was picked up by popular singers to include in their performances in their club and television appearances. Both female and male singers have made it an inclusion in their recorded albums to great effect.^[1] The Daily Telegraph described it as a "big anthem".^[2]

Synopsis within A Chorus Line

In the penultimate scene of the production, one of the dancers has suffered a career-ending injury. The final eight dancers, gathered together onstage, are asked what they would do if they are told they can no longer dance. Diana Morales, in reply, sings this anthem, which considers loss philosophically, with an undefeated optimism; all the dancers concur. Whatever happens, they will be free of regret. What they did in their careers, they did for love, and their talent, no matter how great, was only theirs "to borrow", was to be only temporary and would someday be gone. But the love of performing is never gone. They are all pointed toward tomorrow.

Other versions

• Beverly Bremers released a version of the song as a single in 1975.^[3]
• Aretha Franklin in "Sweet Passion" (1977)
• Petula Clark
• The Three Degrees in Standing Up for Love (1977)
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on Are a Drag (1999)
• Christine Ebersole in a 2009 episode of The Colbert Report
• Lea Michele in the first episode of the second season of the television series Glee.
• Josh Groban in Stages (2015).^[4]

References