"You'll Never Know", sometimes referred to as "You'll Never Know (Just How Much I Love You)" in later years, is apopularsong with music written byHarry Warren and the lyrics byMack Gordon.[1] The song is based on a poem written by a young Oklahoma war bride named Dorothy Fern Norris.[2][failed verification]
The song is often credited as Faye'ssignature song. However, Faye never released a record of the ballad, and frequent later recordings of the song by other singers diminished her association with it.
It was recorded in 1943 by, among others,Frank Sinatra[3] andDick Haymes.[4] Sinatra recorded his version at his first recording session atColumbia as a solo artist (having recorded there in 1939 as a member ofHarry James’s band.) It was arranged and conducted byAlec Wilder with theBobby Tucker Singers providing accompaniment. Sinatra’s version charted for 16 weeks starting July 24 and spent two weeks at number 2.[5] The Haymes version was a number one hit for four weeks on both theBillboard andHarlem Hit Parade charts.[6] Haymes recording sold one million copies, his first gold record achievement.[7]
The Sinatra and Haymes records were made during the1942–1944 musicians' strike, anAmerican Federation of Musicians strike against the recording companies. As a result, the recordings were made without musicians, with vocal groups replacing the usual instrumental backup. The group backing Haymes,The Song Spinners, was actually given credit on the Haymes record. (The Song Spinners number one hit, "Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer", held the top spot on the chart for three weeks preceding Haymes' "You'll Never Know." Vocalist Margaret Johnson of the Song Spinners did the vocal arrangements for both songs.)[citation needed]
InBritain, the recording byVera Lynn was very popular during theSecond World War. During the filmD-Day the Sixth of June the song's melody was played at various times, including when Valerie and Brad are strolling together at the seaside resort, dining in the tearoom and the Italian restaurant, and being together in her apartment.[8]
The song was the first number thatBarbra Streisand ever recorded, in 1955 when she was 13 years old, first released in 1991 as the opening track of her four-discJust for the Record... box set. The same collection concludes with an orchestrated version sung as a duet by Streisand (at age 45, recorded April 21, 1988) with the voice of her younger self from that 1955 recording.[12] Although uncredited on theCD, this closing cut was arranged and conducted byRupert Holmes as part of the suspended Streisand-Holmes "Back to Broadway" recording sessions.[12] Barbra then dramatized the 1955 recording session as part of the opening of herTimeless concert tour in 2000. A recording of this was featured on the accompanying CD & DVD release:Timeless: Live in Concert.[13]
Eartha Kitt recorded a version for her 1962 album,The Romantic Eartha.[17]
The Platters recorded the song in 1962 for their album,Song For the Lonely.[18] It reached #109 on the US Billboard chart. It is often confused with a song with a similar title, "You'll Never, Never Know," charting at #11 in August 1956.
The Mamas & the Papas vocalistDenny Doherty included the song on his 1974 solo albumWaiting for a Song.[21] The single was released with "Goodnight and Good Morning", from the same album, as theB-side. This version reached the top 15 of Billboard's Easy Listening survey.
Singer and actressBernadette Peters sang the song on her eponymous debut solo album in 1980.[22]
Singer Antonio Marcos released a Spanish rendition of the theme, named "Nunca Sabrás", in the Spanish soundtrack from the Brazilian Soap Opera "Baila Conmigo" (Dance With Me), created by Manoel Carlos and televised byRede Globo in 1981.
As Carlton Cinema ceased operations on 31 March 2003, this song was played during its farewell montage. The end of the song was interrupted by an announcer saying, “Carlton Cinema thanks all our viewers for tuning in over the last four years. We hope you enjoyed watching the films as much as we've enjoyed bringing them to you.” The montage ended with the Carlton Cinema logo, above it, its launch date (15 November 1998) and its closure date (31 March 2003) over aGolden Age of Hollywood curtain. It then faded to black and the channel was officially closed. Its transmitters were still on until midnight, though.
