Because of You (1940 song)

"Because of You" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was used in the 1951 film I Was an American Spy.

A 1951 recording by Tony Bennett (Columbia Records catalog number 39362, recorded April 4, 1951) was the first major hit for him, reaching number one on the Billboard charts and staying there for ten weeks. A cover version by Johnny Desmond reached number seventeen at the same time.^[1] The song was also covered that year by Gloria DeHaven (Decca catalog number 27666)^[2] and by Louis Armstrong (Decca catalog number 27816).^[2] The same year, this song was also covered by Les Baxter (Capitol catalog number 1681).^[3] Also in 1951, Tab Smith released an R&B instrumental version which hit number one on the R&B chart and number twenty on the pop chart.^[4] Jimmy Velvet (1958), recorded at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. This was the flip side of "Blue Velvet".

In 1959, a recording was made by Connie Francis. In 1967, a recording was made by Chris Montez, whose version peaked at number seventy-one on the pop chart.

Neil Sedaka recorded the song in 1964, but it was not released until 2005 when it appeared on the RCA/Legacy compilation Love Songs.

A version by Donnie Iris was released as a single in 1979. It was one of the first singles of his solo career, but it had no effect on the charts (his first successful single would come in 1980 with "Ah! Leah!").

In 1952, Seija Lampila recorded a Finnish-language version, Sun Vuokses.

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1951 (U.S.)
• List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States)
• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s

References