"I'll Be Home" is a 1955

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

that was written by Ferdinand Washington and songwriter, Stan Lewis.

Flamingos version

The Flamingos first recorded the song in October, 1955 at Chess' rudimentary office studio at 4750 South Cottage Grove using just two microphones and a tape recorder, then later at

Universal Recording Corporation Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal ...

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...

chose to release the less-polished version, recorded at Chess. The song was released on Chess'

Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Record ...

subsidiary in January, 1956, with The Flamingos version going to No. 5 on ''Billboard'''s R&B chart, its sales greatly overshadowed by the Pat Boone version released the same month.

Pat Boone version

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

recorded the song in December, 1955 with producer Randy Wood for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

. Boone's version was released as a single with "Tutti Frutti" as 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 ...

in January, 1956. Boone's version peaked at No. 5 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' chart. Overseas, it was a number one hit in 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 ...

, spending five weeks at No. 1, and 24 weeks on the charts altogether. It was the best-selling single of 1956 in the United Kingdom.

Other versions

Slim Whitman featured a version on his hit 1977 album ''

Home on the Range "Home on the Range" is a classic cowboy song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. Dr. Brewster M. Higley (also spelled Highley) of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics as the poem "My Western Home" in 1872 or 1873 ...

''.

References

1956 singles 1955 singles Checker Records singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Pat Boone songs Songs written by Ferdinand Washington 1955 songs {{1950s-single-stub