Sadie Vimmerstedt, who was a resident of Youngstown, Ohio, wrote a letter to Johnny Mercer in February of 1957 suggesting that Mercer write a song entitled “When Somebody Breaks Your Heart,” suggesting the theme “I want to be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart.” Mercer responded to Vimmerstedt’s suggestion, wrote the song, sharing authorship with her on a 50/50 basis. Here is Mercer’s demo recording of the song.
Sadie Vimmerstedt loved Frank Sinatra. A widow and beautician, Sadie had been outraged when Frank Sinatra threw over his wife and the mother of his children for actress Ava Gardner in 1950, and felt vindicated when Gardner divorced him in 1957. She had an idea for a song, so she sent it to the most famous song writer she could think of. She didn’t know his address, though, so on the envelope she wrote, “Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, N.Y.“
Mercer originally kept the Sinatra connection secret because they thought that Frank’s temper might flare and get the song killed.
Tony Bennett’s recording of I Wanna Be Around was its first hit, in 1963. Sadie’s first royalty check was for $50,000, allowing the widow from Ohio to travel the world. She and Johnny Mercer maintained a correspondence for years.
Sinatra seemed to have held no grudge, recording the song with Count Basie and his Orchestra in 1964.
For more recordings, see Secondhand Songs.