It was first recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles for their album Tonight's the Night; released as a single that November, it became the first song by an African-American girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens thought it was "too country", but relented after a string arrangement was added.

Session musicians on the recording included Paul Griffin on piano and Gary Chester on drums.

Bertell Dache recorded an answer song entitled "Not Just Tomorrow, But Always" in 1960, which was arranged by Carole King.

[citation needed] The Satintones, an early Motown group, also recorded an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always" (in two different versions), which used the same melody as the original but initially neglected to credit King and Gerry Goffin.

In 1971, Carole King, who composed the music of the song, recorded a version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for her second studio album Tapestry, with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor performing background vocals on separate audio channels.

David Hepworth analyzed it as "less like the pleas for gentleness on the part of a trembling virgin and more like a mature woman requiring parity in a relationship.