"I'll Be Home" is a 1955

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

that was written by Ferdinand Washington and songwriter, Stan Lewis. Both the Flamingos and the Pat Boone versions feature a spoken recitation of the Bridge section.

Flamingos version

The Flamingos first recorded the song in October 1955 at Chess' rudimentary office studio at 4750 South Cottage Grove using just two microphones and a tape recorder, then later at

Universal Recording Corporation Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal i ...

Leonard Chess Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...

chose to release the less-polished version, recorded at Chess. The song was released on Chess'

Checker Records Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded T ...

subsidiary in January 1956, with The Flamingos version going to No. 5 on ''Billboard'''s R&B chart, its sales greatly overshadowed by the Pat Boone version released the same month.

Pat Boone version

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

recorded the song in December 1955 with producer Randy Wood for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...

. Boone's version was released as a single with "Tutti Frutti" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

in January 1956. Boone's version peaked at No. 5 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart. Overseas, it was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart, spending five weeks at No. 1, and 24 weeks on the charts altogether. It was the best-selling single of 1956 in the United Kingdom.

Other versions

Slim Whitman featured a version on his hit 1977 album ''

Home on the Range "Home on the Range" ( Roud No. 3599) is an American folk song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. Dr. Brewster M. Higley (also spelled Highley) of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics as the poem "My Western Hom ...

''.

References

1956 singles 1955 singles Checker Records singles UK singles chart number-one singles Pat Boone songs Songs written by Ferdinand Washington 1955 songs {{1950s-single-stub