Tonight You Belong to Me

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“Tonight You Belong to Me”
Single by Lawrence Welk and His Sparkling Strings with The Lennon Sisters and The Sparklers
B-side	"When the White Lilacs Bloom Again"
Released	1956
Format	7" single
Length	2:04
Label	Coral
Writer(s)	Billy Rose, David Lee

Tonight You Belong to Me is a popular American song, written in 1926 by lyricist Billy Rose and music writer Lee David. It was recorded in 1927 by Gene Austin, although the first ever recording was by Irving Kaufman in 1926 on Banner Records. The song was revived by Frankie Laine in 1952, and subsequently recorded again in 1956 by Patience and Prudence and also by Lawrence Welk with The Lennon Sisters and the duo of Karen Chandler and Jimmy Wakely.

It was also recorded by legendary Country music singer, Dottie West in 1977, and was released as a single to the Country charts that year, reaching #30 on the Hot Country Songs list in 1977. It was put on her 1977 album When It's Just You and Me.

It was also performed by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in the 1979 movie The Jerk, with Martin playing the ukulele and Peters playing the cornet. On the 26th Anniversary DVD re-release there is a tutorial on how to play "Tonight You Belong to Me" on the ukulele.[1]

The Honeys covered the song in 1969 on a record produced by Brian Wilson.

NRBQ covered the song on their 1983 disc "Grooves In Orbit".

Erin McKeown and Josh Ritter parodied the Martin/Peters version on the radio show "The Whole Wide World with Rita Houston" on WFUV, 30 April, 2004. McKeown imitates a flügelhorn during the instrumental section. They also perform this song on the Signature Sounds (a folk music label) 10th Anniversary CD and DVD.[2]

Guest opener Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam sang the song as a duet with Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney at Sleater-Kinney’s last show on August 12, 2006.

The Extraordinary Machine release by Fiona Apple includes a DVD featuring Apple, Jon Brion and others performing "You Belong to Me" live at Cafe Largo in Los Angeles, California.

The version sung by Patience and Prudence is currently used by eBay as a commercial theme.

The song was also featured in the credits of the 2004 film Birth.

The Bird and the Bee released their rendition of the track on their digital EP One Too Many Hearts which is available for purchase online.