HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"You'll Never Know", sometimes referred to as "You'll Never Know (Just How Much I Love You)" in later years, is a popular
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
with music written by
Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
and the lyrics by
Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years between 1940 and 1 ...
. The song is based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris. The song was introduced in the
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...
movie ''
Hello, Frisco, Hello ''Hello, Frisco, Hello'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Lynn Bari, and Jack Oakie. The film was made in Technicolor and released by 20th Century-Fox. This was one of the l ...
'' where it was sung by Alice Faye. The song won the 1943
Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
, one of nine nominated songs that year. It was also performed by Faye in the
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
film '' Four Jills in a Jeep''. The song is often credited as Faye's
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 ...
. However, Faye never released a record of the ballad, and frequent later recordings of the song by other singers diminished her association with it.


Other recordings

*It was recorded in 1943 by, among others,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
and
Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...
. Sinatra recorded his version at his first recording session at Columbia as a solo artist (having recorded there in 1939 as a member of
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...
’s band.) It was arranged and conducted by
Alec Wilder Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder (February 16, 1907 – December 24, 1980) was an American composer and author. Biography Wilder was born in Rochester, New York, United States, to a prominent family; the Wilder Building downtown (at the "Four ...
with the Bobby Tucker Singers providing accompaniment. Sinatra’s version charted for 16 weeks starting July 24 and spent two weeks at number 2. The Haymes version was a number one hit for four weeks on both the ''
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 ...
'' and
Harlem Hit Parade The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
charts. Haymes recording sold one million copies, his first gold record achievement. *The Sinatra and Haymes records were made during the
1942–1944 musicians' strike On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians, at the instigation of union president James Petrillo, James C. Petrillo, began a strike against the major American record companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. Beginning ...
, an
American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...
strike against the recording companies. As a result, the recordings were made without musicians, with vocal groups replacing the usual instrumental backup. The group backing Haymes, The Song Spinners, was actually given credit on the Haymes record. (The Song Spinners number one hit, "Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer", held the top spot on the chart for three weeks preceding Haymes' "You'll Never Know." Vocalist Margaret Johnson of the Song Spinners did the vocal arrangements for both songs.) *In
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, the recording by
Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...
was very popular during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. During the film
D-Day the Sixth of June ''D-Day the Sixth of June'' is a 1956 American DeLuxe Color CinemaScope romance war film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Harry Brown, based on the ...
the song's melody was played at various times, including when Valerie and Brad are strolling together at the seaside resort, dining in the tearoom and the Italian restaurant, and being together in her apartment. *
Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...
recorded the song with
Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...
in 1952, and
Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...
recorded the song for the 2003 covers album '' Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook''. *A version was recorded in 1954 by
Big Maybelle Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Childhood and musical background Born in J ...
. *The song was the first number that
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
ever recorded, in 1955 when she was 13 years old, first released in 1991 as the opening track of her four-disc '' Just for the Record...'' box set. The same collection concludes with an orchestrated version sung as a duet by Streisand (at age 45, recorded April 21, 1988) with the voice of her younger self from that 1955 recording.(CD booklet), "Barbra Streisand: Just for the Record...", 1991 Columbia Records C4K 44111, p. 88 Although uncredited on the CD, this closing cut was arranged and conducted by
Rupert Holmes Rupert Holmes (born David Goldstein; February 24, 1947) is a British-American composer, singer-songwriter, dramatist and author. He is widely known for the hit singles " Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979) and " Him" (1980). He is also know ...
as part of the suspended Streisand-Holmes "Back to Broadway" recording sessions. Barbra then dramatized the 1955 recording session as part of the opening of her Timeless concert tour in 2000. A recording of this was featured on the accompanying CD & DVD release: '' Timeless: Live in Concert''. *
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
recorded it for his
radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...
in 1957 and it was subsequently issued on CD. *
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...
recorded a version in her two-album set '' Hooray for Hollywood'' in 1958. *
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
reached #6 on the UK charts with her 1961 version. *
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...
recorded a version for his 1962 album, '' Oh! Look at Me Now''. *
Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...
recorded a version for her 1962 album, ''The Romantic Eartha''. *The Platters recorded the song in 1962 for their album, ''Song For the Lonely''. It reached #109 on the US Billboard chart. It is often confused with a song with a similar title, "You'll Never, Never Know," charting at #11 in August 1956. *
Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...
released a version on his 1965 album, '' They're Playing Our Song''. *
Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020), known as Trini Lopez, was an American singer and guitarist. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's " If I Had a Hammer", which earned a gold disc for him. His other ...
included "You'll Never Know" on his 1965
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
album ''The Sing Along World of Trini Lopez''. *
The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...
vocalist
Denny Doherty Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock ...
included the song on his 1974 solo album ''Waiting for a Song''. The single was released with "Goodnight and Good Morning", from the same album, as the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
. This version reached the top 15 of Billboard's Easy Listening survey. *Singer and actress
Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...
sang the song on her eponymous debut solo album in 1980. *Singer Antonio Marcos released a Spanish rendition of the theme, named "Nunca Sabrás", in the Spanish soundtrack from the Brazilian Soap Opera " Baila Conmigo" (Dance With Me), created by Manoel Carlos and televised by
Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
in 1981. *
Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...
recorded it for her 1984 album, ''Screen Gems''.


Other pop culture appearances

*
Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...
performed the song in the 1952 American comedy film '' Dreamboat''. *
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
's 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' used Alice Faye's 1943 film recording as its opening song. *
Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful mus ...
performed the song in her final curtain call for her retirement concert, "The Last Dance" in 1997. *On
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
, Lois sings the song in Peter's basement bar in the episode Mind Over Murder 1999. *As Carlton Cinema ceased operations on 31 March 2003, this song was played during its farewell montage. The end of the song was interrupted by an announcer saying, “ Carlton Cinema thanks all our viewers for tuning in over the last four years. We hope you enjoyed watching the films as much as we've enjoyed bringing them to you.” The montage ended with the Carlton Cinema logo, above it, its launch date (15 November 1998) and its closure date (31 March 2003) over a
Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome, Stroud#Golden Val ...
curtain. It then faded to black and the channel was officially closed. Its transmitters were still on until midnight, though. *In 2017,
Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano and actress, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nom ...
and the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
recorded a version of "You'll Never Know" for use in
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...
's 2017 film ''
The Shape of Water ''The Shape of Water'' is a 2017 period romantic dark fantasy film directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Micha ...
''. Alice Faye's 1943 film recording is also used in the film, and Renée Fleming's version is lip-synched later by
Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...
as part of a dance number with Doug Jones.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:You'll Never Know 1943 songs 1943 singles Songs with music by Harry Warren Songs with lyrics by Mack Gordon Frank Sinatra songs Bette Midler songs Trini Lopez songs Shirley Bassey songs Barbra Streisand songs Rosemary Clooney songs Al Hirt songs Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs Love themes