"Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" is a song written by Ahmet Ertegun and Betty Nelson, the wife of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

. It was first recorded by King and was the title track on his third album '' Don't Play That Song!'' (1962). The song reached number 2 on the U.S.

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and number 11 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

when released as a single on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

in 1962. In Europe, it ranked at #10 in Italy on FIMI National Charts between 1962 and 1963. Aretha Franklin covered the song for her nineteenth studio album, ''

Spirit in the Dark ''Spirit in the Dark'' is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on August 24, 1970, by Atlantic Records. It received critical acclaim, but was met with middling sales, despite having two hit singles, " Don't ...

'', released on Atlantic Records in 1970. Her version, performed with the Dixie Flyers, was released as a single in 1970 and peaked at number 1 for five weeks on the R&B singles chart and number 11 on the pop chart. Franklin's version was certified gold with sales over a million copies. It reached number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. This was the first of two covers Franklin did of songs made popular by King. The other was her cover of "

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

" in 1971. Other acts to have recorded or performed the song include Keith Locke and

The Quests The Quests was a Singaporean band. Some sources considered them the most successful Singapore band of the 1960s. History Formation and early years In 1960, Chong Chow Pin (referred to by his nickname "Jap"), Raymond Leong, Henry Chua and L ...

Peppino di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...

, Adriano Celentano in 1977 and Mariah Carey. It was also performed to great acclaim on the first season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' by

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

, the eventual winner. More recently Sam Moore duetted the song with

Bekka Bramlett Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett (born April 19, 1968) is an American singer and session background singer. She is the daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, of the music duo Delaney & Bonnie. She has been a member of Mick Fleetwood's band the Z ...

on his 2006 album '' Overnight Sensational.'' The British soul singer

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, '' The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke an ...

included a cover of the song on her 2016 album '' Soulsville''. In 1962, the French singer

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

released a single with a French adaptation of the song under the title ''Pas Cette Chanson !'' Bruce Springsteen recorded the song for his 2022 album, '' Only the Strong Survive''.

References

1962 singles 1970 singles 1977 singles Ben E. King songs Aretha Franklin songs Songs written by Ahmet Ertegun 1962 songs Atco Records singles {{1970s-R&B-song-stub