The Twelfth of Never

"The Twelfth of Never"
Single by Johnny Mathis
A-side	"Chances Are"
Released	1957
Genre	Pop
Length	2:25
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster
Johnny Mathis singles chronology
"It's Not for Me to Say" (1957) "The Twelfth of Never" (1957) "No Love (But Your Love)" (1957)

"The Twelfth of Never"
Single by Cliff Richard
B-side	"I'm Afraid to Go Home"
Released	October 1964
Genre	Pop
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster
Producer(s)	Norrie Paramor
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"On the Beach" (1964) "The Twelfth of Never" (1964) "I Could Easily Fall (in Love with You)" (1964)

"The Twelfth of Never"
Single by Donny Osmond
from the album Alone Together
B-side	"Life Is Just What You Make It"
Released	February 24, 1973
Recorded	November 27, 1972
Genre	Pop
Length	2:40
Label	MGM Records 14503
Writer(s)	Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Donny Osmond singles chronology
"Why" / "Lonely Boy (1972) "The Twelfth of Never" (1973) "Young Love" / "A Million to One" (1973)

"The Twelfth of Never" is a popular song recorded by Johnny Mathis and later by other artists, including Cliff Richard and Donny Osmond. The song's title comes from the popular expression "the 12th of Never", which is used as the date of a future occurrence that will never come to pass. In the case of the song, "the 12th of Never" is given as the date on which the singer will stop loving his beloved, thus indicating that he will always love her. The song draws a similar link between the cessation of love and a number of other events expected never to happen.

Mathis initially disliked the song, which was released as the flip side to his number-one hit single "Chances Are".^[1]

The song was written by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster, the tune (except for the bridge) being adapted from "The Riddle Song" (also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry"), an old English folk song. Mathis's original version reached number 9 on what is now called the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in 1957.^[2] A version by Cliff Richard was released in 1964 and reached number 8 in the UK.^[3] Donny Osmond's version, produced by Mike Curb and Don Costa, was his second number 1 single in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in March 1973.^[4] In the U.S. it peaked at number 8.^[5]

Chart performance

Johnny Mathis original

Chart (1957-58)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[6]	9
Australia (Sydney, Australia)[7]	2

Cliff Richard version

Chart (1964-65)	Peak position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8]	8
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9]	6
Hong Kong[10]	5
Ireland (IRMA)[11][12]	9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13]	13
Malaysia[14]	3
Norway (VG-lista)[15]	9

Donny Osmond version

Chart (1973)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[16]	8
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9][17]	2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18]	14
Denmark (Tracklisten)[19]	15
Germany (Media Control)[20]	29
Malaysia[21]	8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22]	12
Singapore[23]	2
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24]	1

Cover versions

• 1960: Mark Dinning on his album Wanderin'
• 1960: Dame Gracie Fields as a single
• 1960: Andy Williams on his album, Danny Boy and Other Songs I Love to Sing
• 1961: Anita Bryant on her album Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
• 1963: Nina Simone on her live album Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall
• 1964: Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas
• 1964: Cliff Richard
• 1966: Barry Gibb
• 1966: Cher on her album Cher
• 1966: Slim Whitman (single, reached #17 on US Billboard Country chart)
• 1967: Sandy Posey on her album Single Girl
• 1968: Glen Campbell on his album A New Place in the Sun
• 1968: Roger Miller on his album A Tender Look at Love
• 1968: Johnny Nash on his album Soul Folk
• 1969: The Chi-Lites on their album Give It Away
• 1970: Oliver on his album Again^[25]
• 1970: Tammy Wynette on her album The Ways to Love a Man
• 1973: Donny Osmond on his album Alone Together

̈*1977ː David Houston on his album David Houston (single, reached #98 on US Billboard Country chart)

• 1982: Roger Whittaker on his album Best Loved Ballads
• 1985: The Fureys on their album At the End of the Day
• 1989: Olivia Newton-John on her album Warm and Tender. Her version of the song and her album were produced by John Farrar
• 1992: Alex To on the compilation album 9 Kings of Rock
• 1993: Jeff Buckley on Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition), itself a tribute to Nina Simone's cover
• 1995: Hank Marvin as an instrumental on the album Hank Plays Cliff
• 1997: Dianne Reeves on her album That Day
• 1998: Eddy Raven on his album 20 Favorites
• 2005: Dolly Parton as a duet with Keith Urban on her album, Those Were the Days
• 2010: Barry Manilow on his album The Greatest Love Songs of All Time.
• A rehearsal recording of the song by Elvis Presley was officially released on Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters.

References

Notes

1. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 23 - Smack Dab in the Middle on Route 66. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu.
2. Johnny Mathis chart positions at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
3. "Cliff Richard's UK positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 284. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. Donny Osmond chart positions at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
6. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Johnny Mathis Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
7. Barnes, Jim; Dyer, Fred; Scanes, Stephen (1986). The Book Top 40 Research 1986-1987 Second Edition-Update (doc). Top 40 Research Services, Seven Hills, N.S.W.
8. "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
9. Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969 (doc). Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (21 November 1964). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510.
11. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (28 November 1964). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510.
12. The Official Charts in Ireland began on October 4, 1962. Chart positions before that are taken from the Evening Herald Chart which was a Top Ten single chart published by the Irish daily newspaper Evening Herald between February 1959 and December 1962. "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
13. (nl) van Slooten, Johan (2005). Top 40 Hitdossier 1965-2005 (inclusief alle 'prehistorische' hits van 1956 to 1965) (in Dutch) (9th ed.). Haarlem: J.H. Gottmer / H.J.W. Becht BV. ISBN 90-230-1144-9.
14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (6 March 1965). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 22. ISSN 0006-2510.
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Cliff Richard – The Twelfth of Never". VG-lista.
16. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Donny Osmond Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (30 June 1973). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510.
18. "Ultratop.be – Donny Osmond – The Twelfth of Never" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
19. "Denmark singles chart - The Twelfth of Never". danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
20. "Donny Osmond German singles at charts.de". Media Control. Charts.de. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
21. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (2 June 1973). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 69. ISSN 0006-2510.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Donny Osmond – The Twelfth of Never" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
23. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (16 June 1973). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 83. ISSN 0006-2510.
24. "Donny Osmond: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
25. Oliver, Oliver Again Retrieved March 14, 2012.

Sources

• Ewen, David (1977). All the Years of Popular Music. Prentice Hall. p. 539. ISBN 0-13-022442-1. Retrieved 2007-03-25.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics