"You'll Never Know" is a popular song. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Mack Gordon, based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris. The lyrics can be found at [1].
The song was introduced in the 1943 movie Hello, Frisco, Hello where it is sung by Alice Faye. It was also performed by Faye in the 1944 film Four Jills in a Jeep. It was recorded in 1943 by, among others, Frank Sinatra and Dick Haymes. Haymes’ version was a number one hit for four weeks on the R&B charts that year [1].
Sinatra recorded his version at his first recording session at Columbia as a solo artist. (He had recorded at Columbia in 1939 as a member of Harry James’s band.) It was arranged and conducted by Alec Wilder with the Bobby Tucker Singers providing accompaniment. Sinatra’s version charted for 16 weeks starting July 24 and spent two weeks at number 2. [2]
In Britain, the recording by Vera Lynn was very popular due to the ongoing Second World War.
A 1952 recording by Rosemary Clooney with Harry James is also well known, as well as a version recorded in 1954 by Big Maybelle.
The Sinatra and Haymes records were made during the 1942–1944 strike against the recording companies a strike by the American Federation of Musicians. As a result, the recordings were made without musicians, with vocal groups replacing the usual instrumental backup. The group backing Haymes, The Song Spinners, was actually given credit on the records.
The song was the first song that Barbra Streisand ever recorded in 1955. It was the opening song on her 4-CD box-set Just for the Record (1991). The box-set closed with another version of the song, sung as a duet by Streisand in 1991 and herself as a girl of 13.
The song won the 1943 Academy Award for Best Original Song, one of nine nominated songs that year.
In 1961, a version by Shirley Bassey made #6 in the UK charts.Elkie Brooks recorded it for her 1984 album !! Screen Gems !!
Alice Faye's recording is the opening song in the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
Trini Lopez included "You'll Never Know" on his Reprise Records album The Sing Along World of Trini Lopez (Reprise 6183).
The Mamas & the Papas vocalist Denny Doherty included the song on his 1974 solo album "Waiting for a Song" (Ember-Paramount EMA 0286 - 1974). The single was released with 'Goodnight and Good Morning', from the same album, as the B-side. This version reached the top 15 of Billboard's Easy listening survey.
Notes
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 249.
- ^ (CD booklet), "Frank Sinatra: The Columbia Years: 1943–1952, The Complete Recordings Vol. 1, 1993
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by "White Christmas" from Holiday Inn |
Academy Award for Best Original Song 1943 |
Succeeded by "Swinging on a Star" from Going My Way |
| Preceded by "I Can't Stand Losing You" by Ink Spots |
Billboard Harlem Hit Parade number-one single July 17, 1943 |
Succeeded by "Don't Cry Baby" by Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
