"I Knew You When" is a song written and composed by Joe South. It became a popular hit in 1965 when recorded by American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer Billy Joe Royal. There have also been several other hit cover versions of this song, including by

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

and

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Billy Joe Royal version

"I Knew You When" was first recorded by Billy Joe Royal for his 1965 studio album, '' Down in the Boondocks''. The song reached No. 14 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

the week of November 6, 1965. The song went to No. 1 on the Canadian music chart in November 1965.

Donny Osmond version

released a version in 1971 as the B-side of " Hey Girl" that went to No. 9 on the Hot 100 as a double-sided hit.

Linda Ronstadt version

recorded a cover version for her

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

-plus 1982 album, '' Get Closer''. Her single was produced by Peter Asher and released on Asylum Records. Aided by a popular

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, it reached #30 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 chart and #37 on the ''

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 advertise ...

'' Hot 100 as the album's second single. Additionally, it reached No. 84 on the

country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

, and No. 90 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The song was also a Top 40 Hit in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, giving Ronstadt an underappreciated hit, reaching #36 on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

chart in early 1983. It did best on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

s, reaching #29 (U.S.) and #17 (Canada).

Other versions

Wade Flemons Wade Herbert Flemons (September 25, 1940 – October 13, 1993) was an American soul singer. He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas to Samuel and Kathyrine Flemons. His father was a minister, who introduced him to gospel music. After his parents' mar ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1964 on Vee-Jay Records. Flemons would become a founding member of Earth, Wind & Fire in 1971. * Joe South would later record his version of the song for his 1969 album, ''Games People Play''.

References

1964 songs 1964 singles 1965 singles 1972 singles 1982 singles Billy Joe Royal songs Donny Osmond songs Linda Ronstadt songs Songs written by Joe South RPM Top Singles number-one singles Columbia Records singles Asylum Records singles Songs about loneliness {{1960s-single-stub