"Because of You" is a popular song, written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

. It was first recorded by Larry Clinton and His Orchestra on December 12, 1940, and was released March 28, 1941 on Bluebird 11094. It charted for one week (June 28) and ranked number 95 in the 1941 year-end list. It was used in the 1951 film ''

I Was an American Spy ''I Was An American Spy'' is a 1951 American war drama film dramatizing the true story of Claire Phillips, an American of Filipino descent who spied on the Japanese during World War II and was captured, tortured, and sentenced to death before bei ...

.''

Tony Bennett recording

A 1951 recording by

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

, Columbia Records catalog number 39362, recorded on April 4, 1951 with orchestral backing conducted by

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...

, was Bennett’s first major hit, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' charts and staying there for 10 weeks. Due to its importance in establishing his fame, he continued to perform the song for the rest of his career, even singing it at his final concert performances 70 years after its release.

Notable cover versions

In 1951, there were several artists covering the song: *A

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Johnny Desmond Johnny Desmond (born Giovanni Alfredo De Simone; November 14, 1919 – September 6, 1985) was an American singer who was popular in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Biography Early years Desmond was born Giovanni de Simone in Detroit, Michigan, ...

reached number seventeen at the same time as the Bennett recording. *

Tab Smith Talmadge "Tab" Smith (January 11, 1909 – August 17, 1971) was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist. He is best remembered for the tracks "Because of You" and "Pretend". He worked with Count Basie, the Mills Rhythm Boys a ...

released an R&B instrumental version which was number one on the R&B chart and number 20 on the pop chart. *In 1967, a live recording was made by

Chris Montez Chris Montez (born Ezekiel Christopher Montañez on January 17, 1943) is an American guitarist and vocalist, whose stylistic approach has ranged from rock & roll to pop standards and Latin music. His rock sound is exemplified in songs such as hi ...

, whose version peaked at number 71 on the U.S. pop chart and number 25 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart.

References

1940 songs 1951 singles 1967 singles Chris Montez songs Tony Bennett songs Johnny Desmond songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in the United States Instrumentals {{pop-standard-stub

Tony Bennett recording

Notable cover versions

See also

References