The three men were members of Jimmy Dorsey's big band, but left in 1946 to form the jazz trio "The Soft Winds."
[1] The lyric is addressed to a lover who has worn out their welcome with the singer: "Baby, please leave me be / You want a puppet and there's no strings on me!
In subsequent years, it was recorded by numerous artists, including Anita O'Day, June Christy and Stan Kenton, and Mose Allison.
[3] The song was performed by Cybill Shepherd in a 1985 episode of the TV series Moonlighting, "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice."
It was Shepherd's own suggestion to sing the song, after a discussion she had with jazz critic Leonard Feather.