"I Wonder Why" is a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, written by Melvin Anderson with lyrics by Ricardo Weeks. The song was first recorded by

Dion and the Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal trio prominent throughout the 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo M ...

Background

It is sung from the point of view of a man telling his girlfriend that he loves her but does not know why. The song is noted for Carlo Mastrangelo bass part.

Chart performance

"I Wonder Why" was released as Laurie Records' first single, (number 3013), and was the group's first national pop chart hit, in 1958. The song went to number 22 on the

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 ...

Popular culture

*The song was used in the film ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of ...

'' *The song was in the pilot episode of the television series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''. * John Carpenter's

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's ''

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

''. *A cover was sung by Nicolas Cage in '' Peggy Sue Got Married''. *

The Rock-afire Explosion The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic character band that appeared in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1992. Since 1992, independent companies and people have been preserving it and one can still view the show in various location ...

parodied the song for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants.

Cover versions

*A cover was also sung by

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 T ...

in 1978, reaching number 2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. *Australian band Ol' 55 covered the song on their album, ''

Take It Greasy ''Take It Greasy'' is the debut studio album to be released by Australian 1950's retro band Ol' 55. The album peaked at number 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report and was certified 3× platinum. At the time, 1950s music and culture had gained ...

'' (1976).

References

1958 songs 1958 debut singles Dion DiMucci songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Doo-wop songs Laurie Records singles 1978 singles Showaddywaddy songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub