"You Don't Know Me" is a song written by Cindy Walker based on a title and storyline given to her by Eddy Arnold in 1955. "You Don't Know Me" was first recorded by Arnold that year and released as a single on April 21, 1956 on RCA Victor. The best-selling version of the song is by Ray Charles, who took it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962, after releasing the song on his #1 album Modern Sounds inCountry and Western Music. The first version of the song to make the Billboard charts was by Jerry Vale in 1956, peaking at #14 on the pop chart. Arnold's version charted two months later, released as an RCA Victor single, 47-6502, backed with "The Rockin' Mockin' Bird", which reached #10 on the Billboard country chart. Cash Box magazine, which combined all best-selling versions at one position, included a version by Carmen McRae that never appeared in the BillboardTop 100 Sides listing.
Origin
In his book Eddy Arnold: Pioneer of the Nashville Sound, author Michael Streissguth describes how the song came to be: Cindy Walker, who had supplied Eddy with "Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me", recalled discussing the idea for "You Don't Know Me" with Eddy as she was leaving one of Nashville's annual disc-jockey conventions. "I went up to the Victor suite to tell Steve Sholes good-bye," she explained, "and just as I was leaving, Eddy came in the door." Walker remembered him saying, "I got a song title for you... 'You Don't Know Me.'" "But I know you," teased Walker. "This is serious, replied Eddy, who proceeded to outline his idea. The songwriter promised to let the idea stew in her head for a while. And soon, she remembered, the lyrics tumbled onto the page. "The song just started singing. It sort of wrote itself..."
Notable recorded versions
The best-selling version of the song is by Ray Charles, who took it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962, after releasing the song on his #1 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. It was kept from the #1 spot by Sheila by Tommy Roe. This version also topped the "Easy listening" chart for three weeks in 1962, and was used in the 1993comedy filmGroundhog Day. The song was the 12th number one country hit for Mickey Gilley in 1981. The song has been performed or recorded by hundreds of artists, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson. Charles re-recorded the song with Diana Krall on his #1 album of duets, Genius Loves Company, the only song common to both of Charles' two #1 albums. It was sung by Meryl Streep in the 1990 filmPostcards from the Edge, by John Legend in the 2007Curb Your Enthusiasm episode "The Bat Mitzvah", by Robert Downey Jr. in the 1998 film Two Girls and a Guy, and by Lizzy Caplan in the 2013Masters of Sex episode "Phallic Victories". Artists that released versions of the song:
