You Tell Me (Johnny Cash song)

"You Tell Me"
Single by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
A-side	"You Tell Me" "Goodby Little Darlin'"
Released	1959 (1959)
Genre	country
Label	Sun 331
Songwriter(s)	Roy Orbison[1]

"You Tell Me" is a song originally recorded by Johnny Cash. It was written for him by Roy Orbison.[2][3]

The song was recorded by Cash at Sun Records in May 1958.[2][3] and released as a single (Sun 331, with "Goodby Little Darlin'" on the opposite side) in September 1959,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] when he already left the label for Columbia.

Background

It was during this [May 1958 "The Story of Broken Heart"] session that Cash recorded “You Tell Me,” his first Roy Orbison penned ballad. Along with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, legendary singer-songwriter Roy Orbison also started his career at Sun. He enjoyed his first charting single, “Ooby Dooby,” in 1956 while working at Sun. Cash and Orbison formed a lifelong friendship, and this song by Orbison started it all. It almost feels incomplete, however, and while Cash tries to inhabit it, it does remain simply a noble attempt in his canon of songs.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[2]

References

1. "Goodby Little Darlin' / You Tell Me". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
2. John M. Alexander (2018-04-10). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-1-68226-051-7.
3. John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
4. John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
5. Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
   Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
6. Tim Neely (2004-05-01). Goldmine Records & Prices. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-781-7. Goodbye Little You Tell Me Sun 331.
7. Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1980). Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label. Quick Fox. ISBN 978-0-8256-3161-0. Goodbye Little Darling You Tell Me.
8. George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
9. Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
   September
   Sun records release "You Tell Me"/ "Goodbye, Little Darlin" (Sun 331) and it registers on the country charts for just four weeks with a high of #22.