"I Love You Because" is a song written and recorded by country music singer and songwriter

Leon Payne Leon Roger Payne (June 15, 1917 – September 11, 1969), "the Blind Balladeer", was an American country music singer and songwriter. Life He was born in Alba, Texas, United States. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight in the othe ...

in 1949. The song has been covered by several artists throughout the years, including hit cover versions by

Al Martino Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...

in 1963 and

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

in 1964.

Leon Payne version

In 1949,

's original version of the song went to number four on the ''Billboard'' Country & Western Best Seller lists and spent two weeks at number one on the Country & Western Disk Jockey List, spending a total of thirty-two weeks on the chart. "I Love You Because" was Payne's only song to make the country charts.

Elvis Presley version

"I Love You Because" was first recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

on July 4 and 5, 1954, at SUN Studio. The session started on the 4th and ended early on the morning of the 5th of July in Memphis, Tennessee, the same day he recorded "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. The song was rereleased in early March 1949 under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and bl ...

". Producer

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

did not think "I Love You Because" was the right song for Elvis's first single, but it was instead used as the B-side of "Tryin' to Get to You", both of which can be found on his 1956 debut album ''

''.

Johnny Cash version

The song was also notably covered by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. His version was released by

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(Sun 334, with "

Straight A's in Love "Straight A's in Love" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. The song was released by Sun Records as a single (music), single (Sun 334, with "I Love You Because (song), I Love You Because" on the opposite side) in December 195 ...

" on the opposite side)
in December 1959, when Cash had already left the label for Columbia.

Charts

Al Martino version

In 1963,

recorded the most successful version of the song, which peaked at number three 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 advertise ...

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 ...

chart and number one on the Middle-Road (Adult Contemporary) chart for two weeks in May that year.

Jim Reeves version

In 1963, American country singer

recorded a version of the song for his album Gentleman Jim. Released as a single in 1964, the song peaked at number five in the UK. The song became his most successful single in Norway, topping the VG-Lista chart for 13 weeks. In 1976, the song was the title track of a posthumous Jim Reeves album, which peaked at number 24 on the US Country LP chart. The 45 release reached number 54 in the US ''Billboard'' Country singles chart that year.

Charts

Other versions

*In 1950,

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

and

Clyde Moody Clyde Moody (September 19, 1915 – April 7, 1989), also known as the "Hillbilly Waltz King" and sometimes as "The Genial Gentleman of Country Music" was one of the great founders of American Bluegrass music. Early life and career Born in Che ...

each recorded their own version, both making the Top 10 on the Country & Western charts. *A version by

from his album ''

Sings Hank Williams ''Sings Hank Williams'' is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. It was released on September 5, 1960, by Sun Records after Cash had left the label and signed with Columbia Records. Despite the title, the album does n ...

'' reached number 20 in 1960. * Carl Smith recorded a cover for his album, ''I Love You Because'' (1969). The song peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in 1969. *In 1983,

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

's version peaked at number 91 on the

Hot Country Singles 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 ...

chart.

References

{{authority control 1949 songs 1963 singles Al Martino songs Johnny Cash songs Carl Smith (musician) songs Jim Reeves songs Songs written by Leon Payne Ernest Tubb songs Clyde Moody songs Leon Payne songs Elvis Presley songs Capitol Records singles Sun Records singles

Leon Payne version

Elvis Presley version

Johnny Cash version

Charts

Al Martino version

Jim Reeves version

Charts

Other versions

See also

References