"You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)" is a 1961 single by

Ral Donner Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner (February 10, 1943 – April 6, 1984) was an American rock and roll singer. He scored several pop hits in the US in the early 1960s, and had a voice similar to Elvis Presley. His best known song is his 1961 top ten hi ...

. It was his biggest hit, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

/ref> and at #25 on the UK charts. The song also appears on Donner's 1961 album ''Takin' Care of Business''. The song was written by Paul Hampton and George Burton and released by

Gone Records Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral ...

.Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era
p. 421 (2d ed. 2005) It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of July 16, 1961, at spot 83. It continued to rise on the chart for the next eight weeks, peaking at number 4 for the week of September 10, 1961 (during the reign of ''Michael'' by The Highwaymen at number 1).Billboard Hot 100
Billboard (September 4, 1961) It dropped off the chart after a 12-week run.Poore, Billy
Rockabilly: A Forty-year Journey
p. 132 (1998) Donner's

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

-like vocals caused many to think the song was by Elvis.Osborne, Jerry (9 January 1990)
Elvis had imitators even then
''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

''Popson, Tom (26 May 1989)
Indie Lps: Remembering Ral Donner, Exploring The World Of Rev. Wirtz
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' ("if you didn`t know who was singing, you might swear it was Elvis.") According to a 1979 interview with Donner, the song was recorded in Florida and was intended for recording by a

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

, but Ral and his colleagues liked the demo they heard of the song and decided to record it.Lay, Rip (November 1979)
A Conversation With Ral Donner
''

Goldmine Goldmine may refer to: * A location where gold mining takes place * ''Goldmine'' (magazine), a music collectibles magazine * ''Goldmine'' (album), by Gabby Barrett, 2020 * "Goldmine" (George Fox song), 1989 * "Goldmine" (Kimbra song), 2015 * ...

Chart performance

References

1961 singles 1961 songs Songs written by Paul Hampton {{1960s-single-stub