"I Don't Want to Walk Without You" is a popular

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 song.

The music was written by Jule Styne

Jule Styne

Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...

, the lyrics by Frank Loesser

Frank Loesser

Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...

. The song was published in 1941

1941 in music

-Events:*January 5 – Ernesto Bonino makes his début on Italian radio.*January 15 – Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps is premiered in Stalag VIIIA in Silesia.*January 20 – Béla Bartók's String Quartet No...

 and became a number one pop hit for Harry James

Harry James

Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...

 and his orchestra in 1942. Tommy Tucker

Tommy Tucker (bandleader)

- Introduction :The Tommy Tucker Orchestra entertained many listeners as a big band in the 30s and 40s. Popular as a dance band, the Tucker orchestra played concert halls, theatres, hotels and various venues across the country—for a span of 25 years. Recorded for Okeh in June 1941, his biggest hit,...

 recorded the song on December 2, 1941.

There have been several charting versions of this song during the rock era. Phyllis McGuire charted with her 1964 version, and Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

 released a version of the song in early 1980 which reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was introduced in the Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 motion picture Sweater Girl.