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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)

song performed by Dinah Washington

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ5979573 ↗
Source-derived summary

"I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)" is a 1947 ballad written by and recorded by Savannah Churchill and The Sentimentalists. The single was Savannah Churchill's most successful release on the R&B charts, spending six months on the chart and reaching number one on the R&B Juke Box chart.

Cover versions

Also in 1947, Lionel Hampton and His Hamptonians, reached number two on the R&B Juke Box chart, with their version of the song.

Also in 1947, Dinah Washington recorded the song. It was released as a single Stairway to the Stars c/w I Want to be Loved. It is often confused with her 1950 single I Wanna Be Loved (written by Johnny Green, Edward Heyman and Billy Rose.)

In 1956 Johnnie Ray recorded a version for Columbia Records.

In 1969 Mina covered the song on her album Mina for You.

In 1969 Lou Rawls also covered it for his album The Way It Way Was, The Way It Is.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)” as song performed by Dinah Washington. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1947, 1950, 1956, 1969—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1947. The account is most persuasive where Want, Loved and Only can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song performed by Dinah Washington. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5979573. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1947, 1950, 1956 and 1969.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You) primary sources, I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You) archive and Want research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “I Want to Be Loved (But Only by You)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.