You Belong to Me (1952 song)

"You Belong to Me" is credited to Chilton Price, Pee Wee King, and Redd Stewart. Price, a songwriting librarian at WAVE Radio Louisville, had written the song in its virtual entirety as "Hurry Home to Me", envisioning the song as an American woman's plea to a sweetheart serving overseas in World War II. Afforded songwriting credit on the song mostly in exchange for their work in promoting it, King and Stewart did slightly adjust Price's composition musically and lyrically, shifting the focus from a wartime background "into a kind of universal song about separated lovers" (World War II having ended some years previously) and changing the title to "You Belong to Me". Price had previously had success with another hit she had written, "Slow Poke", under a similar arrangement with the two men. ==Chart performance==

The first recording of the song, in February 1952, was by Joni James. She had seen the sheet music in the Woods Building in Chicago, and the lyrics attracted her. She recorded the song in Chicago, and it was released in March on the local Sharp Records label. After she signed to MGM, it was reissued as her second single on that label on August 5, 1952, after Jo Stafford, Patti Page, Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin had covered it. James' version was also issued on MGM Records for national distribution. The best-known version of the song in early 1952 was recorded after James, by Sue Thompson on Mercury's country label as catalog number 6407. It was soon covered by Patti Page, whose version was issued by Mercury (catalog number 5899), with "I Went to Your Wedding" (a bigger Page hit, reaching No. 1) on the flip side. It entered the Billboard chart on August 22, 1952, and lasted 12 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 4. A cover version by Dean Martin, released by Capitol Records (catalog number 2165), was also in play at that time. This version first entered the US chart on August 29, 1952, and remained on it for 10 weeks, reaching No. 12. Despite the many recordings issued in the UK, only that by Stafford appeared in the singles sales chart. A cover version by Jo Stafford became the most popular version. It was recorded on June 24, 1952, when she was several months pregnant. Stafford's husband, Paul Weston, produced the record and provided orchestral accompaniment. Issued by Columbia Records as catalog number 39811, it was Stafford's biggest hit, topping the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom (the first song by a female singer to top the UK Singles Chart). The single first entered the US chart on August 1, 1952, and remained there for 24 weeks. Stafford re-recorded "You Belong to Me" twice, both in the 1960s. The first of these later recordings was made on January 13, 1963, and issued in January 1964 on a stereo Capitol LP, The Hits of Jo Stafford. On May 14, 1969, another recording was made, issued by ''Reader's Digest on a various-artists box set, They Sing The Songs''. ==Other notable versions==

• A version by the Duprees made the Billboard Top 10, reaching No. 7 in 1962. • Patsy Cline released a version on August 7, 1962, as part of her Sentimentally Yours album, the final album released before her fatal plane crash less than a year later. • Anne Murray recorded a version of the song for her album ''Croonin''' (1993). • A version by Bob Dylan was included on the soundtrack for the film Natural Born Killers, which also includes sampled dialogue from the film. • Jason Wade recorded a cover of the song, which was used in the 2001 movie Shrek. Wade's version was also included in the soundtrack for the film. • A version recorded by voice actress Courtnee Draper in character as Elizabeth Comstock is heard twice in the video game BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea; once at a game location, and again during the closing credits. • The Trashcan Sinatras recorded a version, featured on 12" and CD versions of their 1990 single Only Tongue Can Tell, and could also be found as an extra track on the Japanese version of their debut Cake (album), also released in 1990. ==See also==