"You Don't Care" is a song written by Herb Ryals and Jerry Willis. It was released as a single by Arthur Alexander in 1965 as the B-side to "

Detroit City Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

." Music journalist Richard Younger describes "You Don't Care" is a "

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

y mid- tempo song. Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger describes the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

as "compelling" and "

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

-shaded." Authors David Hatch and Stephen Millward note a resemblance to early

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who covered several of Alexander's songs although not this one. Hatch and Millward describe the vocal performance as incorporating country music mannerisms to a greater extent than Alexander had ever done previously. Unterberger describes Alexander's vocal performance as being "at his most sullen, suffusing the words in hurt without ever boiling over into anger." Unterberger also notes that

George Tomsco George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

's "fierce" guitar incorporated the emotional edge into the music. He particularly praises Tomsco's guitar part for its "sharp, chopped rhythm chords and the lean, piercing solo note runs," which make the part sound similar to the work of

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

guitarist Keith Richards. Rubber City Review also praises Tomsco's "blazing guitar." Unterberger also praises the bridge for its "yearning climax" as well as the

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

provided by the background vocalists. Like "Detroit City," "You Don't Care" was originally recorded with just Alexander and a

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

with

Bill Haney Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak ...

filling in for Alexander's usual

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Noel Ball, who had been recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Haney sent the tapes to Norman Petty, who overdubbed Tomsco's guitar part. Unterberger praises "You Don't Care" as one of several of Alexander's songs that sound like it should have been a hit, but wasn't. He has also described the song as "one of the most compelling soul tunes ever. Rubber City Review described the song as being "pure rock ‘n soul magic."

References

{{Arthur Alexander Arthur Alexander songs 1965 singles Dot Records singles 1965 songs Song recordings produced by Norman Petty