Reason to Believe

"Reason to Believe" is a song written, composed, and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965. It has since been recorded by artists including the Carpenters and Rod Stewart in 1971 and 1993.

Tim Hardin version

After having had his recording contract terminated by Columbia Records, Tim Hardin achieved some success in the 1960s as a songwriter based in Greenwich Village. The original recording of "Reason to Believe" comes from Hardin's debut album, Tim Hardin 1, recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve Records label in 1966 when he was 25.^[1]

Tim Hardin's original recording of the song is also on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Wonder Boys.

The Carpenters version

The Carpenters^[2] recorded "Reason to Believe" for their second LP, Close to You, in 1970. On television, they performed it on the The 5th Dimension Travelling Sunshine Show on August 18, 1971^[3] and Make Your Own Kind of Music on September 7, 1971. ^[4] Richard Carpenter remixed the song for the release of the 1995 compilation, Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration.

Rod Stewart version

"Reason to Believe"
German cover of the "Reason to Believe" single with reversed sides
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Every Picture Tells a Story
B-side	"Maggie May"
Released	July 1971
Format	7" single
Recorded	1971
Genre	Soft rock, folk rock
Length	4:10
Label	Mercury Records
Writer(s)	Tim Hardin
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"It's All Over Now" (1970) "Reason to Believe" / "Maggie May" (1971) "Every Picture Tells a Story" (Spain) (1971)

Background

Rod Stewart's version, released in 1971 on the Every Picture Tells a Story album, reached #62 on its own before the B side, Stewart's signature song "Maggie May", overtook it on its way to top the Billboard Hot 100.

A live version was released in 1993, when it received considerable airplay as part of his MTV Unplugged appearance and subsequent Unplugged...and Seated album. It re-charted, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 1993 single includes the live version of "It's All Over Now", which was recorded during the MTV Unplugged session but does not appear on the live album.

Altogether "Reason to Believe" has logged a total of 41 weeks on the Hot 100, more than any other Rod Stewart single.

Chart performance

Weekly singles chart (1993)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5]	19

Other versions

• Bobby Darin released a version on his If I Were a Carpenter LP on Atlantic Records in 1966, along with other Hardin songs ("Misty Roses" and "If I Were a Carpenter").
• The Youngbloods recorded "Reason to Believe" for their second LP, Earth Music, in 1967.^[6] It was re-released on the compilation album, Sunlight in 1971.^[7]
• Scott McKenzie recorded the song for his The Voice of Scott McKenzie album, released in 1967.
• Ricky Nelson recorded it for his album Another Side of Rick, released in 1967.
• Denny Laine recorded the song with Electric String Band, released in 1967.
• Jackie DeShannon recorded the song for her 1967 album Me About You.
• Marianne Faithfull recorded the song for her 1967 album Love in a Mist.
• Hearts & Flowers, on their 1967 LP Now Is the Time for Hearts and Flowers.
• Gary Lewis & the Playboys, on their 1967 album Listen!
• Peggy Lee recorded the song in 1968 for release on a 45" single along with another Hardin song, "Misty Roses". A live recording of the song by Lee form the same year was released on the album 2 Shows Nightly.
• Peter, Paul and Mary recorded it on their Late Again album, released in 1968.
• Cher recorded it for her Backstage album, released in 1968.
• Glen Campbell recorded the song for his 1968 album Wichita Lineman.
• The Dillards recorded a version for their 1968 album Wheatstraw Suite.
• Vince Guaraldi recorded the song on his 1969 album The Eclectic.
• One of the foreign-language groups who covered this song was the Dutch band Brainbox in 1969.
• Mason Williams recorded the song for his 1970 album Handmade.
• Ramblin' Jack Elliott recorded the song for his 1970 album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks.
• Andy Williams released a version in 1970 on his album, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head.
• Skeeter Davis recorded it on her 1971 album Bring It on Home.
• Arik Einstein recorded it on his 1972 album Yasmin.
• Lynn Anderson recorded it on her 1972 album Listen to a Country Song.
• Johnny Cash recorded it on his 1975 album John R. Cash.
• Eugene Chadbourne recorded it on his 1987 album Camper Van Chadbourne.
• Wilson Phillips include a version of the song on their self-titled debut album, Wilson Phillips, released in 1990.
• Don Williams recorded it for his 1995 album Borrowed Tales.
• Vonda Shepard recorded it for the 1997 Ally McBeal soundtrack album entitled Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life.
• Swedish singer-songwriter Stina Nordenstam recorded a stripped-down rock version of the song for her cover album, People Are Strange, released in 1998.
• Billy Bragg recorded a live version which appears on the 2006 reissue of Workers Playtime.
• Aled Jones recorded a version which appears on the 2007 album Reason to Believe.
• Although they had not yet released a recording of it as of Summer 2009, Crosby, Stills & Nash were performing it live during their 2009 U.S. concert tour.
• Karen Dalton on the album 1966 (Delmore Recordings 2012).
• Rickie Lee Jones recorded a version on her album The Devil You Know, released in 2012.
• Neil Young played a version at Farm Aid 2013.^[8] He recorded this song on his 2014 album A Letter Home.^[9]

References

1. Biography of Tim Hardin - Accessed 2008-08-13
2. http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/Album_CloseToYou.htm
3. Carpenters on TV
4. http://www.thecarpenters.tv/
5. "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
6. Grateful Dead Family Discography:Earth Music
7. Grateful Dead Family Discography:Sunlight
8. Neil Young Covers Tim Hardin's 'Reason to Believe' at Farm Aid
9. Greene, Andy (18 April 2014). "Neil Young's New Covers Album Available Right Now: Surprise!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 April 2014.