I Wish I Didn't Love You So

Last updated
"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
I-Wish-I-Didn't-Love-You-So-1947-Capitol.jpg
Cover for the original Betty Hutton version
Single by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra and the Moon Maids
A-side
  • "Tallahassee"
  • "How Soon"
ReleasedApril 1947
Genre
Length2:45
Label RCA Victor
Songwriter(s) Frank Loesser
Vaughn Monroe singles chronology
"The Things We Did Last Summer"
(1946)		"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
(1947)		"Kokomo, Indiana"
(1947)
Betty Hutton singles chronology
"Poppa, Don't Preach to Me"
(1947)		"I Wish I Didn't Love You So"
(1947)		"(Where Are You?) Now That I Need You"
(1949)

"I Wish I Didn't Love You So" is a 1947 song written by Frank Loesser. It was originally performed by Betty Hutton for the 1947 Paramount Pictures film The Perils of Pauline, and was made famous by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, who reached number 2 with the song in the United States, and number 1 in Canada. [1]

Contents

The song is about how the narrator wishes he did not love his significant other, whose affection to him is "torture," and he wants to move on with someone else, but can not, because "something in [his] heart says no."

Betty Hutton original

Hutton's version, backed by Joe Lilley, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 20th Academy Awards, losing to "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" by James Baskett. [2] It was negatively reviewed by Billboard, as an "unfortunate attempt at ballad styling [that] should serve to discourage future desires for sweet warbling," [3] while Cashbox called it "sensational and beautiful," "of the kind that romancers love to get up close to," and "one of the biggest events of the year." [4]

Hutton's version charted on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart for four weeks, peaking at number 6. [5]

Vaughn Monroe version

As previously mentioned, the biggest-selling version of the song was performed by Vaughn Monroe. Billboard highlighted the "characteristic chants" of the song, [6] and called it "Vaughn's best singing chore in many a moon," [7] while Cashbox called it a "beautiful romantic ballad, good for dancing." [8]

Monroe's version charted for fifteen weeks on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and peaked at number two, blocked by Francis Craig's "Near You". It was also the only version of the song to close out Billboard's year-end list for 1947, which it did at number five. [9]

Notable versions

References

  1. ↑ "Billboard - October 11, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-10-11.
  2. ↑ "The 20th Academy Awards (1948) Nominees and Winners". Oscars.org (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  3. ↑ "Billboard - May 24, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-05-24.
  4. ↑ "Cashbox - May 19, 1947" (PDF). Cashbox . 1947-05-19.
  5. ↑ "Billboard - October 25, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-10-25.
  6. ↑ "Billboard - June 7, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Billboard - June 28, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-06-28.
  8. ↑ "Cashbox - June 23, 1947" (PDF). Cashbox . 1947-06-23.
  9. ↑ "The Year's Top Popular Retail Record Sellers" (PDF). The Billboard . Vol. 60, no. 1. January 3, 1948. p. 19.
  10. ↑ "Billboard - November 8, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-11-08.
  11. ↑ "Billboard - November 1, 1947" (PDF). Billboard . 1947-11-01.
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