"You Don't Know My Name" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

for her second studio album '' The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). It was written by Keys,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and Harold Lilly, and produced by Keys and West. The song contains a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of ...

from the 1975 song "Let Me Prove My Love to You", written by J. R. Bailey, Mel Kent and Ken Williams and performed by

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song " Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Do ...

. It was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' on November 10, 2003, by

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. "You Don't Know My Name" became Keys' third top-ten hit in the United States, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as topping the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 ...

for eight consecutive weeks. Critically acclaimed, the song won a

Grammy Award for Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Ba ...

and a

Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female 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 at ...

. It was sampled on rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

's 2008 song "Comfortable", featuring Babyface and produced by West. ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

'' placed the song at number 37 on its list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2004".

Music video

Directed by Chris Robinson and Andrew Young, rapper

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

plays Michael Harris, Alicia's love interest, and Keys plays a waitress at a restaurant. The music video follows Keys working as a waitress at a café. One day, Keys meets a man (played by Mos Def) in the café, and she falls in love with him. Later on, Keys is at a house party where she runs into that same man when a fight is about to break out, and the scene resembles the house party scene in the movie

Cooley High ''Cooley High'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film that follows the narrative of high school seniors and best friends, Leroy "Preach" Jackson (Glynn Turman) and Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). Written by Eric M ...

. Later in the video, Keys imagines getting the courage to call him and to tell him about her feelings. However, at the end of the movie, she remembers his order but there is no other recognition and the scene ends with his card still being in the bowl and Keys staring out the window since she will never be able to reveal her true feelings for the man.

Track listings and formats

* US 7-inch single :A. "You Don't Know My Name" (radio version) — 4:26 :B. "You Don't Know My Name" (instrumental version) — 4:27 * US 12-inch single :A1. "You Don't Know My Name" (radio mix) — 4:26 :A2. "You Don't Know My Name" (instrumental) — 4:27 :B1. "You Don't Know My Name" (album mix) — 6:08 :B2. "You Don't Know My Name" (acappella) — 4:26 * Canadian and European CD single # "You Don't Know My Name" — 5:28 # "

Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

" (featuring Tony! Toni! Toné!) — 4:45 * UK CD single # "You Don't Know My Name" — 4:20 # "Fallin'" (''Ali'' soundtrack version) — 4:30 * European enhanced CD single # "You Don't Know My Name" — 4:20 # " Fallin'" (''Ali'' soundtrack version) — 4:30 # "Butterflyz" (

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

's Release Mix) — 3:54 # "You Don't Know My Name" (video) * European CD maxi-single # "You Don't Know My Name" — 5:28 # "Diary" (featuring Tony! Toni! Toné!) — 4:45 # "You Don't Know My Name" (instrumental version) — 4:27 * European 12-inch single :A1. "You Don't Know My Name" (radio edit) — 3:07 :A2. "Fallin'" (''Ali'' soundtrack version) — 6:08 :B1. "You Don't Know My Name" (instrumental version) — 4:27

Personnel

* Alicia Keys – producer, vocals, background vocals *

Sanford Allen Sanford Allen (born 1939) is an American classical violinist. At the age of 10, he began studying violin at the Juilliard School of Music and continued at the Mannes School of Music under Vera Fonaroff. He was the first African-American regular ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

* Tony Black –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

* Richard Brice –

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

* Kurt Briggs – violin * Avril Brown – violin * Robert Chausow – viola *

Ray Chew Ray Chew is an American musician who specializes in keyboards and contemporary and orchestral arranging. He is the music director of ABC's Dancing with the Stars (2014–present). Chew was music director for Fox's American Idol from 2010 to 20 ...

– string conductor, string arrangements * Barry Finclair – viola * Eileen Folson –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

* Sharief Hobley – guitar * Stanley Hunte – violin *

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

– background vocals * Harold Lilly – background vocals *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing * Lori Miller – violin * Ann Mincieli – engineer * Caryl Paisner – cello * Marion Pinheiro – violin * Herb Powers Jr. – mastering * Artie Reynolds –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Maxine Roach – viola * Alexander Vselensky – violin *

– producer * Xin Zhao – violin

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

You Don't Know My Name
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{Authority control 2003 singles 2004 singles Alicia Keys songs Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Harold Lilly (songwriter) Songs written by Kanye West