"(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" is an R&B song

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

Paul Gayten Paul Leon Gayten (January 29, 1920 – March 26, 1991) was an American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive. Career Gayten was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, the nephew of blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery. In hi ...

and Bobby Charles (as Robert Guidry), and performed by

Clarence "Frogman" Henry Clarence Henry II (born March 19, 1937), known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry, is an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits " Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and " (I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (1961). Career Clarence Henry ...

Original version

It was Henry's biggest U.S.

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, reaching No. 4 in early 1961. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

on the single release was "Just My Baby and Me". On its initial release in December 1960, the U.S. release on the

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of ...

record label was titled "I Don't Know Why". However, about ten weeks later, Argo announced that due to confusion arising from the song being mistaken for the 1931 song called "I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)", they changed the name of this song to "But I Do". The UK release on the Pye label and the Australian release on the

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label were both titled "But I Do". The UK version spent 19 weeks in the charts and peaked at No. 3 in the first week of May 1961.Rice T, Rice J, Read M & Gambaccini P, Guinness Book of Hits of the 60s. Guinness, London, 1984, p.75 () The song was made popular again after its use in a 1993 UK television commercial for the

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, appearances in the 1994 film ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson ...

'', the 1999 film '' Mickey Blue Eyes'', and a 2019 commercial for

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and its ability to provide dog-friendly hotel accommodations.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Bobby Vinton cover

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

covered "But I Do" in 1972. His version reached No. 82 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 71 on the ''Cash Box'' chart in early 1973. It also reached #27 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song also charted in Canada on both the Pop chart (#72) and Adult Contemporary (#23) chart, where it made its best showing.

Chart history

Other versions

* Irish girl group

the Nolans The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish girl group who formed in Blackpool in 1974 as the Nolan Sisters, before changing their name in 1980. Often referred to as Ireland's ''First Family of Music'', they were the first Irish performing family to achiev ...

covered the song in 1974. It was their debut single, but did not chart. * Dutch duo Lion had a local success with a cover of "But I Do" with "You've Got a "Woman" as the B-side in 1975. *

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

covered the song on his 1981 LP ''Darlin' / The Country Side of Tom Jones''. It was also released as a single but did not chart. *

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...

covered "But I Do" in 1996 on his album ''Classics with Pride''.

References

"''Billboard''"
Billboard ''Hot 100 airplay and sales charts''. Retrieved June 11, 2006. 1961 singles American songs Ronnie Milsap songs Clarence "Frogman" Henry songs Bobby Vinton songs The Walker Brothers songs 1974 debut singles The Nolans songs Songs written by Bobby Charles Songs written by Paul Gayten 1961 songs Argo Records singles {{1960s-single-stub