To Know Him Is to Love Him
| "To Know Him Is to Love Him" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Teddy Bears | ||||
| B-side | "Don't You Worry My Little Pet" | |||
| Released | September 1958[1] | |||
| Format |
| |||
| Recorded | 1958 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:18 | |||
| Label | Doré | |||
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector[2] | |||
| The Teddy Bears singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"To Know Him Is to Love Him" is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father's tombstone, "To Know Him Was To Love Him."[3] It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member,[2] the Teddy Bears. Their recording spent 3 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1958,[4] while reaching No. 2 on UK's New Musical Express chart.[5] Peter & Gordon and Bobby Vinton later had hits with the song, with its title and lyrics changed to "To Know You Is to Love You". In 1987, the song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the U.S. country singles charts. The song is in 12/8 time.
Chart performance
| Chart (1958) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| UK – New Musical Express | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Sides[6] | 10 |
| Preceded by "Tom Dooley" by The Kingston Trio |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Teddy Bears version) December 1, 1958 – December 21, 1958 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by David Seville and The Chipmunks |
Nancy Sinatra version
| "To Know Him Is to Love Him" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Nancy Sinatra | ||||
| A-side | "Like I Do" | |||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:13 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Tutti Camarata | |||
| Nancy Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1962, Nancy Sinatra released her version of the song on Reprise Records, as the B-side of "Like I Do".[7]
Peter and Gordon version
| "To Know You Is to Love You" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Peter and Gordon | |
| B-side | "I Told You So" |
| Released | 1965 |
| Format |
|
| Genre | Pop rock |
| Length | 2:33 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector |
In 1965, Peter and Gordon released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Peter and Gordon's version spent 10 weeks on the UK's Record Retailer chart, peaking at No. 5,[8] while also reaching No. 5 on Canada's "RPM Play Sheet".[9] In the United States, the song spent 7 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 24.[10]
Chart performance
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK – Record Retailer | 5 |
| Canada – RPM Play Sheet | 5 |
| US – Billboard Hot 100 | 24 |
Bobby Vinton version
| "To Know You Is to Love You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bobby Vinton | ||||
| from the album Vinton | ||||
| B-side | "The Beat of My Heart" | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Format |
| |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:21 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector | |||
| Bobby Vinton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1969, Bobby Vinton released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Vinton's version spent 7 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 34,[11] while reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[12] No. 16 on Canada's RPM 100,[13] and No. 6 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.[14]
Chart performance
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US – Billboard Hot 100 | 34 |
| US – Billboard Easy Listening | 8 |
| Canada – RPM 100 | 16 |
| Canada – RPM Adult Contemporary | 6 |
| Canada – CHUM 30[15] | 14 |
Jody Miller version
In 1972, Jody Miller took a version to No. 18 on the Billboard country charts.
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris version
| "To Know Him Is to Love Him" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Trio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Farther Along" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | January 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Country | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:48 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. Nashville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | George Massenburg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris covered the song, including it on their Trio album, and releasing it as the album's first single. Their version reached number one on the US Hot Country Songs chart in May 1987. Its music video was directed by White Copeman.[16]
Chart performance
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[17] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Preceded by "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder" by Michael Johnson |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single May 16, 1987 |
Succeeded by "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You" by The O'Kanes |
| Preceded by "Don't Go to Strangers" by T. Graham Brown |
RPM Country Tracks number-one single May 16–23, 1987 |
Other versions
| "To Know Him Is to Love Him" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Amy Winehouse | |
| from the album Back to Black (Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc) | |
| Released | 2007 |
| Genre | Soul |
| Length | 2:25 |
| Label | Island |
| Writer(s) | Phil Spector |
The Beatles recorded two versions, both retitled "To Know Her Is to Love Her". One version was on their January 1962 audition tapes with Decca, not released during the band's existence. The second version was not officially released until 1994, on their Live at the BBC compilation album. John Lennon recorded his own version of the song in 1973 ("To Know Her Is to Love Her"), but it would not see release until the 1986 compilation Menlove Ave.
British rock star Gary Glitter recorded a version on his second studio album Touch Me in 1973, which reached No. 2 in the UK charts.
Steeleye Span played a cover of the song on their 1974 album Now We Are Six, which features, as a guest, David Bowie on alto saxophone. The inclusion of a rock 'n' roll standard baffled many listeners who had come to expect Steeleye Span's interpretations of traditional fare; what is generally not known, however, is that the track does represent an aspect of Steeleye Span's live show at that time (1974). They were known for doing a rock 'n' roll encore during this period, influenced by the band Sha Na Na with whom they toured.
David Bromberg included a version on his album My Own House (Fantasy 9572, 1978). He recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal live, and then overdubbed a slide guitar part.
In 2007, Amy Winehouse recorded the song acoustically for a B-side of "You Know I'm No Good". A version by Winehouse also appeared on the 2007 compilation album The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show. In the same year, the song was recorded as a duet by Jill Johnson and Lisa Miskovsky.[18]
On July 10, 2010 the song was performed by David Gilmour and Roger Waters when they played a concert in aid of the "Hoping Foundation"[19] – their first performance together since Pink Floyd's gig for Live 8 in July 2005 – as a tongue-in-cheek reference to their often-volatile creative relationship. In 2011, Kikki Danielsson recorded the song on the album Första dagen på resten av mitt liv.[20]
References
- ↑ Classic Tracks, Back To Back Singles; Thunder Bay Press, 2008.
- 1 2 3 "Show 14 – Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 4] : UNT Digital Library". Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. April 27, 1969. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ↑ Charles Montaldo. "Profile of Phil Spector". About.com. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn, "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", Billboard Publications, Inc., 1987. p. 301
- ↑ Teddy Bears – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ "Hot R&B Sides", Billboard, December 8, 1958. p. 34. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ "Reviews of New Singles", Billboard, January 20, 1962. p. 36. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Peter & Gordon – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ "R.P.M. Play Sheet", RPM Weekly, Volume 3, Ed. 25, August 16, 1965. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Peter & Gordon – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Bobby Vinton – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
- ↑ Bobby Vinton – Chart History – Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
- ↑ "The RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
- ↑ "Young Adult", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
- ↑ CHUM 30 – May 17, 1969 at the Wayback Machine (archived November 7, 2006). Collector's issue No. 41. CHUM. Accessed December 17, 2015.
- ↑ "CMT : Videos : Emmylou Harris : To Know Him Is To Love Him". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 152.
- ↑ "Svensk mediedatabas". Retrieved May 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Hoping Foundation". Hoping Foundation. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ↑ "Svensk mediedatabas". Retrieved May 18, 2011.
External links
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