"You Belong to My Heart" is the name of an English-language version of the Mexican
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
song "Solamente una vez" (''Only Once'', in English). This song was composed by Mexican songwriter
Agustín Lara and originally performed by singer
Ana María González and tenor
José Mojica
Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica (14 September 1895 – 20 September 1974) was a Mexican Franciscan friar and former tenor and film actor. He was known in the music and film fields as José Mojica. (Spanish)
Mojica joined the world of the Americ ...
in the 1941 film ''Melodías de América''.
After that, the original Spanish-language version was very popular in
Mexico and
Cuba as well as being recorded by many of the greatest Bolero interpreters such as
Los Panchos in 1951.
Covers of ''Solamente una vez''
"Solamente una vez" has been performed by many artists including
Anacani,
Natalie Cole,
Sara Montiel,
Daniel Rodríguez,
Quartetto Gelato
Quartetto Gelato is a Canadian European classical music, classical crossover quartet with current members Colin Maier, Matti Pulkki, Kirk Starkey, and Tino Popovic, and based in Hamilton, Ontario. Their musical repertoire consists of a mix of cl ...
,
Arielle Dombasle
Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...
,
Benny Moré,
Ignacio Piñeiro,
Pedro Vargas,
Julio Iglesias,
Roberto Carlos,
Andrea Bocelli,
Chucho Valdés,
Plácido Domingo,
Nat King Cole,
Marty Robbins,
Lucho Gatica,
Guadalupe Pineda,
Roland Shaw & His Orchestra,
Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...
,
and
Cliff Richard and the
Shadows.
''The Three Caballeros''
"Solamente una vez", retitled "You Belong to My Heart", was featured in the
Disney film "
The Three Caballeros" with English lyrics written by
Ray Gilbert and sung by
Dora Luz.
Gilbert's lyrics bear no similarity to Lara's original Spanish language lyrics.
This song is on the
orange disc of ''
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic''.
Covers of ''You Belong to My Heart''
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
and the
Xavier Cugat orchestra recorded a version of the song on February 11, 1945 for
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
as catalog number 23413. It first reached the
''Billboard'' magazine Best Seller chart on May 24, 1945, and lasted 9 weeks on the chart, peaking at #4.
[
]
The
Charlie Spivak orchestra released a version by
RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1663. It first reached the ''Billboard'' magazine Best Seller chart on May 17, 1945 and lasted 2 weeks on the chart, peaking at #9.
[
In 1949 Alfredo Antonini and his orchestra collaborated with Victoria Cordova (vocalist) and John Serry Sr. to record the song for Muzak.Victoria Cordova & Alfredo Antonini Orchestra performing "You Belong to My Heart" for Muzak at The Library of Congress Online Catalog at catalog.loc.gov]
/ref>
In 1955, jazz pianist Jack Pleis recorded it for his album, ''Music from Disneyland''.
Elvis Presley, as part of the Million Dollar Quartet, performed a shortened version of the song, mixing Agustín Lara's original Spanish lyrics and Ray Gilbert's English lyrics.
Singers Andy Russell, Jerry Vale, Engelbert Humperdinck and Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
also recorded versions mixing Lara's and Gilbert's lyrics.
Other artists to have recorded this version of the song include Paula Kelly and The Modernaires, José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...
,
The Three Tenors,
Marty Robbins,
the Old 97's,
and Cliff Richard.
Los Índios Tabajaras performed an instrumental version of the song under this title.
The 101 Strings Orchestra
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing ...
, Enrique García Asensio, and Charlie Haden released instrumental versions of the song crediting both titles.
Film
Disney would use this song again in their short film " Pluto's Blue Note" (1947).
Tito Guizar sang the song in the Roy Rogers film '' The Gay Ranchero'' (1948), while Ezio Pinza performed a version mixing Lara's and Gilbert's lyrics in ''Mr. Imperium
''Mr. Imperium'' (UK title: ''You Belong to My Heart'') is a 1951 romantic musical drama Technicolor film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Lana Turner and singer Ezio Pinza. It was directed by Don Hartman, who cowrote the screenplay ...
'' (1951), with Lana Turner and the Guadalajara Trio.
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
sang the song in the film '' The Big Sombrero'' (1949).
The song is used in soundtrack of the 2004 film '' Napoleon Dynamite''.
The song was also cut from a Yvonne de Carlo and Vittorio Gasman scene in the 1953 movie ''Sombrero''.
''Only Once in My Life''
Another English language version, titled "Only Once in My Life" was written by Janis and Rick Carnes and was released in 1998. These lyrics are not a translation of the original Spanish lyrics.
References
{{Authority control
1944 songs
Bing Crosby songs
Luis Miguel songs
Mexican folk songs
Songs with music by Agustín Lara
Songs with lyrics by Ray Gilbert
Songs written for films
Spanish-language songs
Songs from The Three Caballeros
Boleros
English-language Mexican songs