"Near You" is a popular song written and originally recorded by Francis Craig and His Orchestra at Castle Studio in 1947, with lyrics by Kermit Goell, which has become a pop standard.

Background

The recording by Francis Craig (the song's composer) with orchestra member Bob Lamm on vocals was released by Bullet Records as catalog number 1001. It first reached the Billboard Best Sellers chart on August 30, 1947 and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at number one. On the "Most Played By Jockeys" chart, the song spent 17 consecutive weeks at number one, setting a record for both the song and the artist with most consecutive weeks in the number-one position on a US pop music chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song overall for 1947. In 2009, hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas surpassed Craig's record for artist with most consecutive weeks in the number-one position with the songs "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling". However, their record was accomplished with combined weeks of two number 1 songs - one succeeding the other in the top position. In 2019, "Old Town Road", by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, surpassed "Near You" for song with most consecutive weeks in the number-one position with 19 weeks.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette

In 1977, "Near You" became a number-one country hit as a duet for the duo of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, one of the more unlikely compositions the two country legends sang together. Recorded in the winter of 1974, its atypical arrangement showed that country fans still had an appetite for any music performed by the estranged couple, who had been country music's "First Couple" in the early 1970s. In fact, it was their second consecutive number 1 single since their divorce in 1975; they had only managed to top the charts once during their six-year marriage with "We're Gonna Hold On" in 1973.

Other versions

Other recordings of the song that charted on the Billboard best seller in 1947 include:

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