"I Don't Know Why" (sometimes listed as "Don't Know Why I Love You") is a song by American singer-songwriter

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

, from the 1968 album '' For Once in My Life''. It was released as a single on January 28, 1969, with " My Cherie Amour" on 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 ...

. A few months later, the single was re-issued with sides reversed because of the growing popularity of "My Cherie Amour", which became a Top Ten hit. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' stated that "Wonder is softened just a trifle on this slower and more dramatically developing ballad."

Personnel

– vocals,

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tens ...

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

– all other instruments

Charts

The single peaked at No. 39 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was recorded when Wonder was 18 years old, and became a moderate hit single, together with "You Met Your Match", another song from the album. It also showcases Wonder's talents on the

Rolling Stones version

A rendition of "I Don't Know Why" by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

is included on their 1975 rarities compilation ''

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

''. It was recorded on July 3, 1969, during the sessions for '' Let It Bleed''. It was also the night that news broke of former guitarist Brian Jones' death, less than a month after he had been fired from the band. The song was also used as the B-side for their 1975 single "

Try A Little Harder Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

", and peaked at No. 42 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

References

{{authority control 1968 songs 1969 singles Stevie Wonder songs Songs written by Lula Mae Hardaway Songs written by Stevie Wonder Torch songs Song recordings produced by Stevie Wonder