"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" was strongly associated with 1920s [[torch singer]] [[Helen Morgan]], who played Julie in the original 1927 stage production of ''Show Boat'', as well as the 1932 revival and [[Show Boat (1936 film)|the 1936 film version]].{{citation needed|date<ref>https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028249/fullcredits/?ref_=February 2014}}tt_ov_st_sm</ref><ref>https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604709/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm</ref><ref>https://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/cast.php?showid=7131</ref> While Morgan was alive, she "owned" the song as much as [[Judy Garland]] owned "[[Over the Rainbow]]" (from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]''). However, Morgan died prematurely in 1941. Her recordings are seldom played or reissued today and her films are infrequently seen. Finally, the 1936 film version of ''Show Boat'' was taken completely out of circulation in 1942<ref>Warner's has recently reissued this version, remastered; initial production will be manufactured DVDs, thereafter it will become a made-on-demand DVD-R.</ref> to make way for [[MGM]]'s 1951 [[remake]], which featured [[Ava Gardner]] as Julie (with singing dubbed by Annette Warren). Therefore, modern audiences unfamiliar with the 1936 film have most likely never heard Helen Morgan's performance of the song, though various recordings of her singing it are available online.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG8R8oB4eaY Helen Morgan - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man 1928]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vakcYAKtqas Helen Morgan, Victor Young and the Brunswick Orchestra - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (1932)]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPR3X9AjhaU Show Boat - 1936]</ref>
Another singer who had a big hit with it was [[Lena Horne]], who sang it in the [[Jerome Kern]] biopic ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'' (1946), and could have easily played Julie in [[MGM]]'s ''Show Boat'' had the studio not been nervous about casting her in the role.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}
