"I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" is an R&B song written and recorded by American singer Barbara George, released as her debut single in 1961. It became her

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

and her only major hit in United States, reaching No.1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart and No.3 in the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

. It was later covered by various artists, inducing

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

, and

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

version by Marisela topped ''Billboard'''s Latin chart in 1988.

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

borrowed the melody of "I Know" for their 1963 cover of " Everybody Loves A Lover".

Background

Barbara George began singing as a teen in her

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

choir and writing her own original songs. Already married by age 16, she later befriended R&B performer Jessie Hill, who wrangled her an audition with

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

Harold Battiste's fledgling AFO label. In June 1961, Battiste organized a split recording session for George and fellow AFO artist Prince La La at producer Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios. Backed by New Orleans studio performers including cornetist

Melvin Lastie Melvin Clarke Lastie, Sr. (November 18, 1930 – December 4, 1972) was an American R&B trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. He also played jazz and was a session musician on many soul and rock records of the 1960s. Lastie was born in New O ...

, guitarist Roy Montrell, and drummer John Boudreaux, George cut the self-penned "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)", a vibrant, up-tempo number inspired by the traditional hymn "

Just a Closer Walk with Thee "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the ...

". Issued via AFO's national distribution deal with Juggy Murray's

Sue Records ''Sue Records was also the name of a Louisiana-based record company which owned Jewel Records (Shreveport record label).'' Sue Records ("The Sound of Soul") was an American record label founded by Juggy Murray, Henry 'Juggy' Murray and Bobby Robins ...

, "I Know" hit radio and retail in late 1961 and was a national 'crossover' hit, topping the U.S. R&B charts and crossing over to No.3 on ''

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 advertis ...

s pop chart.

Marisela version

In 1988, American singer Marisela recorded a cover version of the song for the soundtrack of the film '' Salsa''. The original version recorded by Marisela was sung in

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

and included on the

film soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

, along with songs by Laura Branigan,

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

, Robi Rosa, Wilkins and Grupo Niche. A

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

version of the track, produced by Enrique Elizondo, was later included in Marisela's album of the same title, under the title "Ya No". This version became her first No.1 single in the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks chart, temporarily dislodging Franco's " María" for one week from the top of the chart.

Other versions

* 1962:

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell (), was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. ...

on his album ''All the Hits'' * 1963: Beryl Marsden's single * 1965:

Paul Revere & The Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

on the album '' Just Like Us!'' * 1965: Pat Carroll on the album ''Requests!'' * 1965:

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

& Vanetta Fields performed a live version which was released on the album '' Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show'' * 1966:

Fontella Bass Fontella Marie Bass (; July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit " Rescue Me" in 1965. She was nominated for a Grammy Award twice. Early life Fontella Bass was bor ...

on her album ''The 'New' Look'' * 1968:

's track reached No.14 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart * 1969:

's version from their album ''The Hunter'' reached No.126 on ''Billboard'''s

Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

* 1972:

on her album ''Give It Up'' * 1972:

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...

included it on his album ''Crown Prince of Dance'' * 1973:

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

on her album '' Danny's Song'' * 1974: The Newbeats put out the song as a single * 1975:

Yvonne Fair Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (''née'' Coleman; October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994) was an American singer, best known for her 1975 recording of " It Should Have Been Me". Life and career Flora Yvonne Coleman was born in Richmond, Virginia on Oct ...

on her album ''The Bitch Is Black'' * 1976:

on her album '' I'd Rather Believe in You'' * 1978:

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

on his album '' Luxury You Can Afford'' * 2000:

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

on the L.P. ''

Makin' Love Is Good for You ''Makin' Love Is Good for You'' is a 2000 album by American blues musician B. B. King, his thirty-eighth studio album. Track listing #"I Got to Leave This Woman" (Melvin Jackson) #"Since I Fell for You" (Buddy Johnson) #"I Know" (Barbara Geor ...

'' * 2006:

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

sang it for the special Big Apple to the Big Easy, with

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

References

{{authority control 1961 songs 1961 debut singles 1962 singles 1974 singles 1988 singles Barbara George songs Fats Domino songs The Newbeats songs Ike & Tina Turner songs Marisela songs

Background

Marisela version

Other versions

See also

References