"You Belong to Me" is a song written by American singer-songwriters Carly Simon and Michael McDonald. Simon wrote the lyrics, and McDonald composed the music. Originally recorded by McDonald's rock group The Doobie Brothers for their seventh studio album, Livin' on the Fault Line (1977), the song was made famous by Simon when she recorded it for her seventh studio album, Boys in the Trees (1978). The Doobie Brothers' recording has also been featured in various of the band's compilation albums, including Best of The Doobies Volume II (1981), Listen to the Music: The Very Best of The Doobie Brothers (1993), and Greatest Hits (2001). A live version of the song from The Doobie Brothers' 1983 album Farewell Tour would be released as a single and charted on the Pop Singles chart as a minor hit at No. 79 in August 1983. The Doobie Brothers later re-recorded the song with Amanda Sudano and Vince Gill on their 2014 album Southbound. McDonald also re-recorded the song with Spanish singer Concha Buika as a non-album single in 2022.
Contents
Overview
Released as the lead single from Simon's seventh studio album, Boys in the Trees (1978), "You Belong to Me" reached the top 10 of the Billboard Pop Singles chart, peaking at No. 6, and remained on the chart for 18 weeks. It also peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and stayed on the chart for 19 weeks. At the 21st Annual Grammy Awards in 1979, the track earned Simon a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Cash Box particularly praised the lead and backing vocals and "lilting sax solo." Record World said it "blends [Simon's] style with The Doobie Brothers' in a sultry, rather dream-like way, and some appropriate sax work adds to the effect."
One of Simon's biggest hits, "You Belong to Me”, has been featured on many compilations of her work, including the three-disc box set Clouds in My Coffee (1995), the UK import The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better (1998), the two-disc retrospective Anthology (2002), and the single-disc Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004). It is also featured in Simon's 1987 HBO concert special Live from Martha's Vineyard and the accompanying Greatest Hits Live (1988). The track is also featured in the romantic comedy films Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Little Black Book (2004).
In 2009, Simon re-recorded the song, with guest vocalist John Forté, for her album of acoustic performances of many of her past hits, Never Been Gone.
Personnel
Carly Simon – lead vocals, backing vocals
Richard Tee – Fender Rhodes electric piano
Cornell Dupree – electric guitar
Eric Gale – electric guitar
Gordon Edwards – bass
Steve Gadd – drums
David Sanborn – alto saxophone solo
James Taylor – backing vocals
Jonathan Abramowitz, Lamar Alsop, Julien Barber, Alfred Brown, Fredrick Buldrini, Paul Gershman, Ted Hoyle, Theodore Israel, Harold Kohon, Jesse Levy, Charles Libove, Guy Lumia, Joe Malin, Yoko Matsuo, Homer Mensch, Kermit Moore, Marvin Morgenstern, Alan Shulman, Mitsue Takayama and Gerald Tarack – strings
Track listing
7" single
"You Belong to Me" – 3:12
"In A Small Moment" – 3:05
The Doobie Brothers version
"You Belong to Me" originally appeared on The Doobie Brothers' seventh studio album, Livin' on the Fault Line (1977). The live version from their 1983 album Farewell Tour would later chart on the Pop Singles chart at No. 79 in August 1983. An edit of the live version appears on the band's 2007 two-disc greatest hits album The Very Best of The Doobie Brothers.
Personnel
Source:
Michael McDonald – vocals, keyboards
Keith Knudsen – drums, backing vocals
Maureen McDonald – backing vocals
Rosemary Butler – backing vocals
Tiran Porter – bass, backing vocals
Bobby LaKind – congas, backing vocals
John Hartman – drums
Jeff Baxter – guitar
Patrick Simmons – guitar, backing vocals
Randy Brecker – trumpet solo
David Paich – string arranger
Production
Donn Landee – engineer
Kent Nebergall – assistant engineer
Track listing
1983 live single
"You Belong to Me" – 3:06
"South City Midnight Lady" – 5:48
Anita Baker versions
In 1994, American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker re-recorded her version of the song originally recorded for the compilation album Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary (produced by Lenny Kaye) in 1990. She re-released the track in 1995 as the fourth single from her fifth studio album, Rhythm of Love. The cover is not to be confused with another song recorded by Baker of the same name (co-written by Terry Britten, Billy Livsey and Graham Lyle), the closing track of her 1988 album Giving You the Best That I Got (also produced by Michael J. Powell).
Jennifer Lopez version
In 2002, American singer Jennifer Lopez re-recorded her version of the song for her third studio album, This Is Me... Then (2002) as the ninth track on that album, was produced by Cory Rooney and Dan Shea, who produced the majority of the album. It had a more urban soul sound than Simon's recording, lasting three minutes and thirty seconds. Lopez's version contains an interpolation of "Catch the Beat," written by G. Andrews, K. Nix, Brad Osborne, and T. Ski Valley and performed by T. Ski Valley.