Tonight You Belong to Me

"Tonight You Belong to Me"
"Tonight You Belong to Me"
Single by Patience and Prudence
B-side	"A Smile and a Ribbon"
Released	July 1956
Genre	Traditional pop
Length	1:50
Label	Liberty
Songwriter(s)	Billy Rose, Lee David
Producer(s)	Mark McIntyre
Patience and Prudence singles chronology

"To-Night You Belong To Me"
"To-Night You Belong To Me"
Song by Gene Austin
B-side	"It Made You Happy When You Made Me Cry"
Published	1926 by C & J David Music Company, Anne-Rachel Music Corporation, Mills Music Inc.
Released	January 14, 1927
Recorded	December 1, 1926
Studio	Victor Studios, New York City
Genre	Jazz, Pop Vocal
Label	Victor 20371
Songwriter(s)	Billy Rose, Lee David
Gene Austin singles chronology

Last updated September 23, 2025

"Tonight You Belong to Me" is an American popular song, written in 1926 by lyricist Billy Rose and composer Lee David. The first ever recording was made by Irving Kaufman in 1926 on Banner Records.^[6] In 1927, Gene Austin recorded it and the song became a major hit. Another popular recording during this time was by Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orchestra.

Other versions

The song was revived by Frankie Laine in 1952, and recorded again in 1956 by Patience and Prudence, whose version reached #4 on the Billboard charts; they recorded it again in 1964.^[7] It was also recorded in 1956 by Lawrence Welk with The Lennon Sisters, and by the duo of Karen Chandler and Jimmy Wakely.

In 1977, "Tonight You Belong to Me" was recorded by American country music artist Dottie West. It was released as a single, peaking at number 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in August 1977. The song was then issued on West's 1977 studio album When It's Just You and Me .^[8]

The song was sung as a duet by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in the 1979 film The Jerk , with accompaniment on ukulele and cornet.

References

↑ "Anne-Rachel Music". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
↑ "Original versions of Tonight You Belong to Me written by Lee David, Billy Rose | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
↑ "Cover versions of To-night You Belong to Me by Gene Austin | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
↑ 78 Record: Gene Austin - To-Night You Belong To Me (1927) , retrieved 2021-08-06
↑ "Reviews of New Pop Records". Billboard. July 14, 1956. p. 36.
↑ Don Tyler (2 April 2007). Hit Songs 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. ISBN 9780786429462 – via Amazon.com.
↑ Patience and Prudence: A Sister Act Remembered
↑ "Dottie West Chart History: Country Songs". Billboard . Retrieved 7 August 2019.

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[1] "Anne-Rachel Music". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-08-06.

[2] "Original versions of Tonight You Belong to Me written by Lee David, Billy Rose | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.

[3] "Cover versions of To-night You Belong to Me by Gene Austin | SecondHandSongs". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.

[4] 78 Record: Gene Austin - To-Night You Belong To Me (1927) , retrieved 2021-08-06

[5] "Reviews of New Pop Records". Billboard. July 14, 1956. p. 36.

[6] Don Tyler (2 April 2007). Hit Songs 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era. McFarland. ISBN 9780786429462 – via Amazon.com.

[7] Patience and Prudence: A Sister Act Remembered

[8] "Dottie West Chart History: Country Songs". Billboard . Retrieved 7 August 2019.

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v t e Dottie West singles
Albums Singles
1960s	"My Big John" "Touch Me" "Let Me off at the Corner" "Love Is No Excuse" (with Jim Reeves) "Here Comes My Baby" "Didn't I" "Gettin' Married Has Made Us Strangers" "No Sign of Living" "Before the Ring on Your Finger Turns Green" "Would You Hold It Against Me" "Mommy, Can I Still Call Him Daddy" "What's Come Over My Baby" "Paper Mansions" "Like a Fool" "Childhood Places" "Country Girl" "Reno" "Rings of Gold" (with Don Gibson) "There's a Story (Goin' 'Round)" (with Don Gibson)
1970s	"Till I Can't Take It Anymore" (with Don Gibson) "It's Dawned on Me You're Gone" "Forever Yours" "Careless Hands" "If It's All Right with You" "Country Sunshine" "Last Time I Saw Him" "House of Love" "Lay Back Lover" "When It's Just You and Me" "Every Word I Write" "Tonight You Belong to Me" "Every Time Two Fools Collide" (with Kenny Rogers) "Come See Me and Come Lonely" "Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Kenny Rogers) "All I Ever Need Is You" (with Kenny Rogers) "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" (with Kenny Rogers) "You Pick Me Up (And Put Me Down)"
1980s	"A Lesson in Leavin'" "Leavin's for Unbelievers" "Are You Happy Baby?" "What Are We Doin' in Love" (with Kenny Rogers) "(I'm Gonna) Put You Back on the Rack" "It's High Time" "You're Not Easy to Forget" "She Can't Get My Love Off the Bed" "Tulsa Ballroom" "Together Again" (with Kenny Rogers)