“ I Just Don't Understand ” ( Rus. I just don't understand ) is a song written by Kent Westberry and Meridzhon Wilkin [1] and recorded by Anne-Margret, an American singer of Swedish origin. The song was first released as a single of the same name in June 1961 (with the song “I Don't Hurt Anymore” on side “B” [2] ), and was later included in the second album by On The Way Up (October 1961) [ 3] . In July 1961, the song entered the American Billboard Hot 100 chart [4] , where it reached 17 positions and spent a total of 12 weeks [5] . The song is a minor ballad of unrequited love, in which the girl (on behalf of whom the narrative is being conducted) expresses her bewilderment why the guy "calling her his baby" still hurts her.
| I just don't understand | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single Ann Margrethe from On The Way Up album | ||||
| Side “A” | I just don't understand | |||
| Side B | I Don't Hurt Anymore | |||
| Released | 1961 | |||
| Format | 7 " | |||
| Genre | blues rock | |||
| Duration | 2:37 | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Songwriter | Meridzhon Wilkin, Kent Westberry | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Anne Margrethe Singles Timeline | ||||
| ||||
From a musical point of view, the song is notable for backing vocals performed by the famous band The Jordanaires [4] (collaborating including with Elvis Presley ) and the guitar part (performed by the famous American guitarist and author Billy Strange [6] [7] ), recorded with using the fuzz effect , which was one of the earliest examples of the use of this technique [8] [9] [10] .
Cover versions
- The well-known cover version of the song belongs to the Beatles group, which recorded it for the tenth issue of the radio program “Pop Go The Beatles” (the recording was made on July 16, 1963, the broadcast went on the air on August 20) [9] . The main vocal part was performed by John Lennon . This record was officially published only in 1994, when it became part of the compilation album Live at the BBC [9] .
- Australian singer Normie Rowie released his version of the song, which was more “harsh” sounding [11] , on the “B” side of the single “I (Who Have Nothing)” (this song was also a cover version of Ben King 's song) in 1965 [12 ] . The cover version and the single as a whole achieved success in the Australian charts, and the single became "double gold" [13] .
- American indie rock band Spoon included a cover version of the song in their album They Want My Soul (2014) [14] .
- The song was also sung by the British group Freddie and the Dreamers (1964) and a number of other little-known performers [15] .
Sources
- ↑ “I Just Don't Understand” by Ann-Margret . secondhandsongs.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Ann-Margret - I Just Don't Understand / I Don't Hurt Anymore . 45cat.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Ann-Margret Official Website - Discografy . ann-margret.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 Ann-Margret - Biography . billboard.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Ann-Margret - Chart History . billboard.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Rich Kienzle. Fuzztone: Who Used It First? (eng.) . communityvoices.post-gazette.com (February 4, 2014). Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ SongFacts - “I Just Don't Understand” by Ann-Margret . songfacts.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Fuzz and Distortion Timeline . HewittsGarageStudio.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 3 I Just Don't Understand . beatlesbible.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Willard, Jim . "I Just Don't Understand"; Ann-Margret had just 1 hit , Reporter-Herald (November 12, 2014). Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Video with the sound of the Normie Rowey version (Retrieved February 23, 2015)
- ↑ Normie Rowe - I (Who Have Nothing) / I Just Don't Understand . 45cat.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- ↑ Normie Rowe - Discography (inaccessible link) . normierowe.com.au. Date of treatment February 23, 2015. Archived February 27, 2015.
- ↑ Video with the sound of the Spoon band version (Retrieved February 23, 2015)
- ↑ A list of cover versions of the song “I Just Don't Understand” . whosampled.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
Links
- Lyrics for “I Just Don't Understand” . allmusic.com. Date of treatment February 23, 2015.
- Video with the sound of the original version of Ann Margrethe (Retrieved February 23, 2015)
- Beatles Video ( Live at the BBC Album) (Retrieved February 23, 2015)