I Love You Because (song)
"I Love You Because" is a 1949 song written and originally recorded by Leon Payne. The single went to number four on the Billboard Country & Western Best Seller lists and spent two weeks at number one on the Country & Western Disk Jockey List, spending a total of thirty-two weeks on the chart.[1] "I Love You Because" was Payne's only song to make the country charts.
Cover versions
"I Love You Because" has been covered by several artists throughout the years:
- In 1950, Ernest Tubb and Clyde Moody each recorded their own version both making the Top 10 on the Country & Western charts.
- Johnny Cash
- Carl Smith
- Slim Whitman
- Elvis Presley
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- George Jones
- Willie Nelson
- Jean Shepard
- Ray Price
- In 1963, Al Martino recorded the most successful version of the song peaking at number three on the Hot 100 and number one on the Middle-Road (or Easy Listening) chart for two weeks in May that year.[2]
- In 1964, Jim Reeves took the song to number five in the UK. In 1976, the song was the title track of a posthumous Jim Reeves album, which peaked at number 24 on the US Country chart. The single version reached number 54 in the US that year.
Chart performance
Jim Reeves
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norway Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 5 |
See also
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 265.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 159.