You Don't Know Me (Armand van Helden song)

"You Don't Know Me" (originally titled "U Don't Know Me") is a song by American record producer Armand van Helden featuring vocals from American singer Duane Harden. It was released on January 25, 1999 by labels Armed and FFRR, as the lead single from his third studio album, 2 Future 4 U (1998). The creation of the song came about when Helden created a looping track composed of several music samples and left Harden to write and record the lyrics alone.^[4]

"You Don't Know Me"
Single by Armand van Helden featuring Duane Harden
from the album 2 Future 4 U
B-side	"Alienz" "Rock da Spot"
Released	January 25, 1999 (1999-01-25)[1]
Genre	House[2] garage[3]
Length	8:10 (original version) 3:59 (radio edit)
Label	Armed FFRR
Songwriter(s)	Duane Harden Armand van Helden Kossi Gardner
Producer(s)	Armand van Helden
Armand van Helden singles chronology
"Ultrafunkula" (1997) "You Don't Know Me" (1999) "Flowerz" (1999)
Audio sample
"U Don't Know Me" file help

The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1999. "You Don't Know Me" additionally reached the top 10 in France, Greece, and Italy, and topped the Canadian RPM Dance chart.

Content

The strings featured in this song are courtesy of Carrie Lucas's "Dance with You", also used in Phats and Small's "Music for Pushchairs". The drums are sampled from Jaydee's "Plastic Dreams". The full version of the track features a dialogue from the Dial M for Monkey segment of Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory. The episode was "Simion", where the title character (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) provided the spoken intro.

Legacy

In 2016, Vice magazine ranked "U Don't Know Me" number eight in their list of "The Ten Best Samples in the History of House Music".^[5]

Track listings

US maxi-CD single[6] "U Don't Know Me" (original mix) "Alienz" "Rock da Spot" (featuring Mr. Len) "U Don't Know Me" (dubstrumental) "U Don't Know Me" (radio edit) Canadian maxi-CD single[7] "U Don't Know Me" (radio edit) "Alienz" "Rock da Spot" (featuring Mr. Len) "U Don't Know Me" (dubstrumental) "U Don't Know Me" (original mix)

US 12-inch single[8] A. "You Don't Know Me" B. "You Don't Know Me" (Raw mix) UK CD and cassette single, Australasian CD single[9][10][11] "You Don't Know Me" (radio edit) – 3:59 "You Don't Know Me" – 8:10 "Rock da Spot" (featuring Mr. Len) – 5:50 UK 12-inch single and European CD single[12][13] "You Don't Know Me" – 8:10 "Rock da Spot" (featuring Mr. Len) – 5:50

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[14] 15 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 13 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 26 Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 2 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[18] 11 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[19] 1 Denmark (IFPI)[20] 17 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] 6 France (SNEP)[22] 7 Germany (GfK)[23] 40 Greece (IFPI)[24] 2 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[25] 26 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 11 Italy (Musica e dischi)[27] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 11 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 15 Scotland (OCC)[31] 2 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[32] 18 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 27 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 16 UK Singles (OCC)[35] 1 UK Dance (OCC)[36] 1 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[37] 2 Chart (2020) Peak position Hungary (Dance Top 40)[38] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position Australia (ARIA)[39] 80 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[40] 84 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[41] 90 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[42] 8 France (SNEP)[43] 37 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[44] 111 UK Singles (OCC)[45] 44 UK Airplay Top 50 (Music Week)[46] 27 US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[47] 10 Chart (2020) Position Hungary (Dance Top 40)[48] 32 Chart (2021) Position Hungary (Dance Top 40)[49] 41

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[50]	Gold	35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[52]	Platinum	600,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[53] "U Don't Know Me"	Silver	200,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.