"You Can't Be True, Dear" is a popular German

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 ...

History

It was originally written as a

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

song, "Du Kannst Nicht Treu Sein," by composer Hans Otten and lyricist Gerhard Ebeler. English language lyrics and title were written by Hal Cotten. In

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, Ken Griffin recorded the song, first released as an instrumental and later with vocalist Jerry Wayne dubbing the lyrics, both of which became popular in releases by an independent company, Rondo Records. A number of other versions were also recorded that year. The recording by Ken Griffin and Jerry Wayne was released by Rondo Records as catalog number 228. It first reached the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

Best Seller chart on April 2, 1948 staying at #1 for seven weeks. The instrumental recording by Ken Griffin was released by Rondo Records as catalog number 128. It first reached the

Best Seller chart on July 2, 1948 peaking at #2. Both the vocal and solo organ versions charted for 23 weeks and sold an estimated 3,500,000 copies. Note that this version was recorded and released first, but charted after the vocal version.

Renditions

A number of other versions were also recorded in 1948. The recording by

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 ...

with

The Song Spinners The Song Spinners were an American singing quartet of two men and two women which began as a folk song group on radio in the 30's and then enjoyed a burst of popularity during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. They accompanied Dick Haymes on "You' ...

was released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

as catalog number 24439. It first reached 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 ...

Best Seller chart on May 28, 1948, and lasted 13 weeks on the chart, peaking at #9. Both sides of this recording were

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of bigger hits, but both charted; the flip side was "

Nature Boy "Nature Boy" is a song first recorded by American jazz singer Nat King Cole. It was released on March 29, 1948, as a single by Capitol Records, and later appeared on the 1961 album '' The Nat King Cole Story''. It was written by eden ahbez as ...

", a major hit for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. The recording by The Sportsmen was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

as catalog number 15077. It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on May 28, 1948, and lasted 13 weeks on the chart, peaking at #11. The flip side, "Toolie Oolie Doolie," also charted. The recording by The Marlin Sisters was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalog number 38211. It first reached the

Best Seller chart on June 4, 1948, and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #19. The flip side, "Toolie Oolie Doolie," also charted (oddly enough, in both The Sportsmen's and the Marlin Sisters' version, the same song was the flip side and in both cases, both sides made the charts). The recording by

Dick James Dick James (born Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick; 12 December 1920 – 1 February 1986) was a British music publisher and singer. He and Brian Epstein established The Beatles' publishing company, Northern Songs. Later, with his son Stephen, James ...

was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

as catalog number 20-2944. It first reached the

Best Seller chart on June 25, 1948, and lasted 2 weeks on the chart, peaking at #19. This was his only charting hit. Two artists 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

also recorded the song at about the same time.

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 ...

recorded the song on March 10, 1948, which was released by the UK Decca label under catalog number F-8883, and

Dolores Gray Dolores Gray (June 7, 1924 – June 26, 2002) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical twice, winning once. Early life Both her mother ...

made a recording on August 13, 1948, released by the UK Columbia label under catalog number DB 2451. Vera Lynn's recording also charted in the United States. This recording was released by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

as catalog number 202. It first reached the

Best Seller chart on May 21, 1948, and lasted 7 weeks on the chart, peaking at #14. A revival of the song by

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

(Columbia Records catalog number 4-44345) became popular in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, spending 8 weeks on the Billboard

Easy listening music Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit son ...

chart, peaking at #11.

Other recordings

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts, second onl ...

(

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

) *

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

(

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

) *

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Each of her characters typically possessed a fervent expressiveness and an easily ide ...

and

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western pe ...

(

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

) *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

(1963) * Will Glahe (

) *Ken Griffin (vocal: Jerry Wayne) (1948) *Ken Griffin (Instr.) (1948) *Dick Haymes and The Song Spinners (1948) *Dick James (1948) *Die Lustige München Musikanten (under the title "Du Kannst Nicht Treu Sein") * Henry Lindblom with Stig Holm's "Rhythm Masters". Swedish lyrics written by Fritz-Gustaf, entitled "Som vind om våren". Recorded in Stockholm on December 28, 1948. It was released on the

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

X 7464. *Vera Lynn (1948) *The Marlin Sisters with

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

(1948) *

Mary Kaye Trio Mary Kaye (née Malia Ka'aihue; January 9, 1924 – February 17, 2007) was an American guitarist and performer. She was active from the 1940s through 1960s. Biography Malia Ka'aihue was born on January 9, 1924, in Detroit, Michigan, to father J ...

(1959) *Patti Page (1965) * Bob Ralston *

Somethin' Smith and the Redheads Somethin' Smith and the Redheads were an American vocal group, doing mostly pop standards in the 1950s. Their biggest hit single was " It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" in 1955, which reached number seven in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The follow ...

*The Sportsmen (1948) *

Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...

Billy Vaughn William Vaughn, popularly known as Billy Vaughn (born Richard Smith Vaughn, April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991) was an American musician, singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. Biography Vaughn was bor ...

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

References

{{Authority control American songs German songs 1948 songs Vera Lynn songs