| "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, Lee David |
"Tonight You Belong to Me" is a popular American song, written in 1926 by lyricist Billy Rose and composer 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, who reached #4 on the Billboard charts with their version, and also by Lawrence Welk with The Lennon Sisters and the duo of Karen Chandler and Jimmy Wakely, Ann Shelton and The Duprees. In 1964 Tonight You Belong to Me was recorded by George Maharis in a sweet swing-style under Epic label.
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The version sung by Patience and Prudence is currently used by eBay as a commercial theme.
One of the most embarrassing moments in live 1950's television occurred during a Patience and Prudence performance on the Ed Sullivan show when the girls were lip syncing the song and the recording stuck on the word, "belong."
It was also recorded by 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. Jazz ukulele player Lyle Ritz actually played the ukulele accompaniment for the scene. On the 26th Anniversary DVD re-release there is a tutorial by Ukulele Gal on how to play "Tonight You Belong to Me" on the ukulele.
In 2008, MJ O'Sullivan recorded a duet with his wife Theresa which is almost identical to the Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters performance. It appears on his album All I Need Is This Guitar (that's all I need) - the title derived from a scene from The Jerk.
The Honeys covered the song in 1969 on a record produced by Brian Wilson.
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their 1965 album The Chipmunks Sing with Children.
NRBQ covered the song on their 1983 disc "Grooves In Orbit".
The expanded version of The Trash Can Sinatras' 1990 disc Cake includes a cover of the song, as a bonus track.
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.[1] Josh Ritter has also recorded a version of the song with Blake Hazard of The Submarines, which was released as a B-side on the Snow Is Gone single.
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. On his 2011 album, Ukulele Songs, Eddie Vedder released this song as a duet with Cat Power.
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.
Nancy Sinatra covered it.
The version sung by Patience and Prudence is currently used by eBay as a commercial theme. One of the most embarrassing moments in live 1950's television occurred during a Patience and Prudence performance on the Ed Sullivan show when the girls were lip syncing the song and the recording stuck on the word, "belong."
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.
In an episode of Boston Legal, was sung as a duet between the 2 characters Edwin Poole and Attorney Melvin Palmer at a piano[1].
A live version of Viva Voce (band) performing this song can be found on their 2007 compilation album "Lovers, Lead the Way!/The Heat Can Melt Your Brain" as track 33[2].
The song is featured in a 2009 TV commercial for U.S. Cellular.
The song was covered by John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton on the audiobook edition of Hodgman's book More Information Than You Require.
The song was covered by Eddie Vedder and Chan Marshall (Cat Power) on Vedder's second solo album, Ukulele Songs (2011).
Actress Zooey Deschanel and comedian Ben Schwartz posted a Youtube clip of themselves performing the song.
The song was featured in two episodes of American Horror Story on the FX Channel. The first was in the Pilot episode, as the twins, Troy and Byron, begin trashing the house with baseball bats. The second was during the season finale, "Afterbirth", as the new homeowners run screaming from the home (2011).