Uploaded March 2015 | Updated September 2026, 40 minutes ago
"You Don't Know What You've Got" is a 1961 single by Ral Donner that peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Donner admired Elvis Presley while growing up. His singing bore an uncanny resemblance to Presley's style, and though he had years of steady work, Donner never elevated above a marginal career. However, he is considered the best of all the Presley sound-a-likes, and after Presley's death, did the narration (as Elvis) in the 1981 film This Is Elvis. --- If there is a legacy for Donner, it would be where he is depicted as rock star Johnny Casino in the book (and later movie) "Grease" by Jim Jacob. Set in circa-1957, it is based on Jacob's memories while both he and Donner attended William H. Taft High School in Norwood Park, Illinois. Though "You Don't Know What You've Got" was Donner's biggest hit, I prefer his version of the song "The Girl Of My Best Friend".
"You Don't Know What You've Got" is a 1961 single by Ral Donner that peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Donner admired Elvis Presley while growing up. His singing bore an uncanny resemblance to Presley's style, and though he had years of steady work, Donner never elevated above a marginal career. However, he is considered the best of all the Presley sound-a-likes, and after Presley's death, did the narration (as Elvis) in the 1981 film This Is Elvis. --- If there is a legacy for Donner, it would be where he is depicted as rock star Johnny Casino in the book (and later movie) "Grease" by Jim Jacob. Set in circa-1957, it is based on Jacob's memories while both he and Donner attended William H. Taft High School in Norwood Park, Illinois. Though "You Don't Know What You've Got" was Donner's biggest hit, I prefer his version of the song "The Girl Of My Best Friend".
