"You Don't Know What Love Is" is a popular song of the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is th ...

, written by

Don Raye Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thr ...

(lyrics) and

Gene de Paul Gene Vincent de Paul (June 17, 1919 – February 27, 1988) was an American pianist, composer and songwriter. Biography Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II. He was married to Billye Louise Files (Novem ...

(music) for the

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

film '' Keep 'Em Flying'' (1941), in which it was sung by Carol Bruce. The song was deleted from the film prior to release. The song was later included in '' Behind the Eight Ball'' (1942), starring the Ritz Brothers. "You Don't Know What Love Is" was again sung by Carol Bruce; it was her third and final film until the 1980s.Wilson, Jeremy
"'You Don't Know What Love Is' (1941)"
JazzStandards.com, accessed October 15, 2017 After

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

recorded an instrumental version of the song in 1954, it became a jazz standard, with

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

releasing a soulful pop-flavored vocal version a year later, along with a searing Modern Jazz take by

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self-proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

, accompanied by Jimmy Rowles and Tal Farlow. Other noteworthy recordings were made by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

(with string arrangements by

Ray Ellis Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 – October 27, 2008) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor, and saxophonist. He was responsible for the orchestration in Billie Holiday's '' Lady in Satin'' (1958). Biography Raymond Spencer Elli ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

, and

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Other versions

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

- (1942) *

- '' Chet Baker Sings and Plays'' (1955) *

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

- ''

Art Blakey!!!!! Jazz Messengers!!!!! ''Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers'' (stylized as ''Art Blakey!!!!! Jazz Messengers!!!!!'' and titled ''Alamode'' in Japan) is a studio album by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, released on September 1, 1961, through Impulse! Records. Expan ...

'' (1961) *

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

- ''

Ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

'' (1962) *

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

- '' Lady Coryell'' (1968) *

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

- '' Piano Jazz: McPartland/Costello'' (2005) *

- ''

Walkin' ''Walkin'' (PRLP 7076) is a Miles Davis compilation album released in March 1957 by Prestige Records. The album compiles material previously released on two 10 inch LPs in 1954, including all of '' Miles Davis All-Star Sextet'' and most of '' M ...

'' (1954) *

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

- '' Last Date'' (1964) *

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

- '' Heavy!!!'' (1968) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

- (1941) *

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

- '' The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye'' (1961) *

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

with

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

- (1941) *

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

- '' Outpost'' (1981) * Chrissie Hynde, of the

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: Film * ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film * ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature * ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...

(2019) *

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2, 1930 – April 16, 2023) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For six decades, he was one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. He was a NEA Jazz Ma ...

- '' Poinciana'' (1963) *

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 ...

Lee Konitz Leon "Lee" Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's ass ...

- ''Motion'' (reissue) (1961) *

Gloria Lynne Gloria Lynne (born Gloria Wilson; November 23, 1929 – October 15, 2013), also known as Gloria Alleyne, was an American jazz vocalist with a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007. Early life Lynne was born in Harlem in 1929 to John and Ma ...

- ''I Wish You Love'' (1964) *

Warne Marsh Warne Marion Marsh (October 26, 1927 – December 18, 1987) was an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Los Angeles, his playing first came to prominence in the 1950s as a protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano and earned attention in the 1970s as ...

- ''Warne Marsh Trios'' (1975) *

- ''An Evening With Anita O'Day'' (1955) *

- '' Saxophone Colossus'' (1956) * Charlie Rouse - '' Yeah!'' (1961) *

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

- ''Tribute to Billie Holiday'' (2008) *

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...

- ''Some Other Time'' (1989) *

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

- '' The New Tristano'' (1961) *

- ''

For Those in Love ''For Those in Love'' is a studio album by American jazz vocalist Dinah Washington with musical arrangements by Quincy Jones. It was originally released by EmArcy Records in June 1955, and was reissued by EmArcy Records in 1991. In popular cult ...

'' (1955) *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

and

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

- '' The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings'' (2009) *

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

- '' Tenderly'' (1989)

References

1941 songs 1940s jazz standards Songs with music by Gene de Paul Songs written by Don Raye Marvin Gaye songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Andy Williams songs Eva Cassidy songs Jazz compositions in G minor Real Book Song {{pop-standard-stub

Other versions

Further reading

References