"I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore" is a
popular
Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group.
Popular may also refer to:
In sociology
* Popular culture
* Popular fiction
* Popular music
* Popular science
* Populace, the total ...
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 repetit ...
, written by
Bennie Benjamin
Claude August "Bennie" Benjamin (November 4, 1907 – May 2, 1989) was a Virgin Islands-born American songwriter. He had particularly successful songwriting partnerships with Sol Marcus, with whom he wrote "I Don't Want To Set The World On F ...
and
George David Weiss
George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America.
He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Biography
Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...
and published in 1949. The song was popularized that year by
Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra (vocals by The
Stardusters) and by
Perry Como.
Commercial performance
Gordon Jenkins
The recording by Gordon Jenkins was released by
Decca Records as catalog number 24576 and first reached the ''
Billboard'' charts on March 25, 1949 and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 6.
[
]
Perry Como
The recording by
Perry Como was released by
RCA Victor Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...
as catalog numbers 20-3347 (78 rpm) and 47-2892 (45 rpm). It was the flip side of "
Forever and Ever." It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on May 6, 1949 and lasted 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 11.
[
]
Charlie Rich
The song received renewed popularity in 1974, when 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 ...
singer Charlie Rich released a cover version he had recorded during the mid-1960s. Rich's version came about during his stint at RCA's rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
subsidiary, Groove Records
Groove Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor records, founded by '' Billboard'' writer Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red had its first hit but Mickey & Sylvia was its ...
, and association with producer Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...
, one of the architects of the Nashville Sound
The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...
. Like many of Atkins-produced songs of the era, "I Don't See Me ..." featured choral backing and strings, a style prominent on other Rich recordings of the time. Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
reviewer Stephen Cook said that Rich's musical style "landed somewhere between the raw sound of his Sun hits ... and the pop crossover tone of his Epic smashes."
Rich's rendition reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 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 sa ...
chart in June 1974. It was his fifth No. 1 song overall and his third number one in the first six months of 1974 alone. The song also crossed over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 survey, peaking at No. 47, and to the Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
chart, where it peaked at No. 9.The Most Beautiful Girl
"The Most Beautiful Girl" is a song recorded by Charlie Rich and written by Billy Sherrill, Norro Wilson, and Rory Bourke. The countrypolitan ballad reached No. 1 in the United States in 1973 on three ''Billboard'' music charts: the pop chart ( ...
," and it was not long before several of his older recordings made during his tenures at RCA, Mercury and 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 ...
— "I Don't See Me ..." included — were released as singles to country radio.
Charts
Other cover versions
Other recordings were made by Helen Forrest
Helen Forrest (born Helen Fogel, April 12, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was an American singer of traditional pop and swing music. She served as the "girl singer" for three of the most popular big bands of the Swing Era (Artie Shaw, Benny Goodm ...
(on January 24, 1949, released by MGM Records as catalog number 10373), Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...
(on January 4, 1949, released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38408), Kitty Kallen
Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene and the early ...
(as the B side of "Kiss Me Sweet," 1949, released by Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
as catalog number 5265), and 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
and Sam Browne
General Sir Samuel James Browne, (3 October 1824 – 14 March 1901) was a British Indian Army cavalry officer, known best as the creator of the Sam Browne belt. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantr ...
(on February 5, 1949, released by British Decca Records as catalog number F 9127). The song hit No. 1 in the British sheet music charts (no record charts were published until 1952).
The song was featured on the Fun Lovin' Criminals
Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backin ...
track "There Was a Time" from their 2001 album "Loco".
References
{{authority control
1949 songs
Songs written by Bennie Benjamin
Songs written by George David Weiss
Perry Como songs
Charlie Rich songs
Song recordings produced by Chet Atkins
Groove Records singles
RCA Records singles