Never My Love
Encyclopedia
"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Donald and Richard Addrisi and best known from a hit 1967 recording by The Association
. The Addrisi Brothers
had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success was as the songwriter
s of "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in late 1999 the Publishing Rights Organization Broadcast Music Incorporated
(BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century.
The first recording of "Never My Love" that achieved success was by The Association, an American pop-rock band from California. Their version of the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and hit number one on the Cash Box charts in October 1967, one of the band's five top-ten hits in the late 1960s. Their third #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart, following "Cherish
" (1966) and "Windy
" (1967), it was featured on the band's album Insight Out.
By the time The Association's record was certified Gold by the RIAA for one million copies sold as of December 1967, Billboard noted that sixteen artists had recorded the song. Their third number one single had made them a top concert act and highly in demand by the TV variety series and specials and talk shows that were a predominant format at the time, and they performed the hit on The Ed Sullivan Show
, The Andy Williams Show
, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
, The Hollywood Palace
, The Dean Martin Show
, Dick Clark's American Bandstand
, Hullabaloo
, Shindig!
, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
, The Dick Cavett Show
, The Joey Bishop Show
, The Steve Allen Show
, and a Carol Channing
special.
Allmusic's Stewart Mason wrote of the "laid-back and dreamy" single with a "sleek and sophisticated" tune that "the dual lead vocals, by Terry Kirkman and Larry Ramos, are supported by wordless harmonies as effortlessly airy as whipped cream." Mason credited Ray Pohlman's "clever arrangement (with adding) space to the sound through juxtaposing disparate elements like the four-note bass riff that introduces the verses and the electric piano lick that ornaments the chorus, rather than jamming them on top of each other." Mason observed that it sounded "like Pohlman had been paying particular attention to Burt Bacharach
's work with Dionne Warwick
, a resemblance the 5th Dimension later amplified on their cover of the song."
That cover by American R&B vocal group The 5th Dimension was produced by the same man behind The Association's record, Bones Howe
. Recorded live in 1971 their version reached number twelve on the Hot 100 in October of that year. The recording also hit number one on the Billboard Easy Listening
chart, the group's fourth to top that chart, following "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
" and "Wedding Bell Blues
" (both 1969), and "One Less Bell to Answer
" (1970). It also reached #45 on the Billboard R&B chart
.
Allmusic's Matthew Greenwald wrote of The 5th Dimension's single, "'Never My Love' is certainly more well-known as the huge hit from the Association in 1967. This version, a vocal solo from Marilyn McCoo
, is a great vehicle for her powerful pop voice... A song that has one of the most direct, straightforward loving messages, it remains one of the most-played and performed songs of the pop era, and for good reason."
"Never My Love" was covered by the Swedish rock band Blue Swede
in 1974. This version peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 and remained in the Top 40 for eight weeks, becoming the third hit version of the song.
The Addrisi Brothers recorded their own version of the song they wrote on the Buddah label in late 1977, and it peaked at number 80 on the Hot 100 and number 28 on the easy listening chart. Barry Manilow
covered the song for his 1996 album Summer of '78
. Other versions of the song that reached the Billboard charts in the U.S. include The Sandpebbles
(#98 pop, 1968); Vern Gosdin
and Janie Fricke
(#9 country
, 1978); and Chill Factor (#62 R&B, 1988). Other versions were recorded by popular artists as diverse as Booker T. & the M.G.'s
, Vicki Carr, Percy Faith
, The Four Tops, Lou Christie
, Billy Crawford
, Etta James
, Steve Lawrence
, Brenda Lee
, The Lennon Sisters
, The Lettermen
, David Hasselhoff
, Henry Mancini
, Johnny Mathis
, Smokey Robinson
, Tom Scott
, Sylvia
, Cal Tjader
, The Ventures
, Kathy Troccoli
, Andy Williams
and Sarah Vaughan
.
In 1999 the song was recognized as the second most-played song in history, with performances of more than 7 million, according to BMI
. The #2 rank on the Top 100 Songs of the Century, listing the most played songs on American radio and television, placed "Never My Love" between the #1 song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
", written by Barry Mann
, Phil Spector
and Cynthia Weil
, and the #3 song "Yesterday
" by John Lennon
and Paul McCartney
. BMI estimated that the song had as of 1999 received what amounted to about 40 years of continuous airplay in its 32 years.
The Association
The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...
. The Addrisi Brothers
Addrisi Brothers
The Addrisi Brothers were an American pop duo from Winthrop, Massachusetts. The brothers themselves were Donald Addrisi and Richard Addrisi, known as Dick ....
had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success was as the songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s of "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in late 1999 the Publishing Rights Organization Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
(BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century.
The first recording of "Never My Love" that achieved success was by The Association, an American pop-rock band from California. Their version of the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart and hit number one on the Cash Box charts in October 1967, one of the band's five top-ten hits in the late 1960s. Their third #1 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart, following "Cherish
Cherish (The Association song)
"Cherish" is a pop song written by Terry Kirkman and recorded by The Association. Released in 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year and remained in the top position for three weeks. In Canada, the song also reached number one...
" (1966) and "Windy
Windy
"Windy" is a pop music song written by Ruthann Friedman and recorded by The Association. Released in 1967, the song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that year. Later in 1967, an instrumental version by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery became his biggest Hot 100 hit when it peaked at...
" (1967), it was featured on the band's album Insight Out.
By the time The Association's record was certified Gold by the RIAA for one million copies sold as of December 1967, Billboard noted that sixteen artists had recorded the song. Their third number one single had made them a top concert act and highly in demand by the TV variety series and specials and talk shows that were a predominant format at the time, and they performed the hit on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show
The Andy Williams Show is a television variety show which ran from 1959 to 1971 , and a short-lived run in syndication, beginning in the fall of 1976...
, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is an American comedy and variety show hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.-History:...
, The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
, The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show
The Dean Martin Show is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by crooner Dean Martin...
, Dick Clark's American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, Hullabaloo
Hullabaloo (TV series)
Hullabaloo is an American musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965 through August 29, 1966. Similar to Shindig! it ran in prime time in contrast to ABC's American Bandstand.-Overview:...
, Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including:* ABC daytime ...
, The Joey Bishop Show
The Joey Bishop Show (talk show)
The Joey Bishop Show is an American talk show which was first broadcast on ABC on April 17, 1967, hosted by Joey Bishop and featuring Regis Philbin in his first concentrated national television exposure, as Bishop's sidekick/announcer...
, The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
, and a Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
special.
Allmusic's Stewart Mason wrote of the "laid-back and dreamy" single with a "sleek and sophisticated" tune that "the dual lead vocals, by Terry Kirkman and Larry Ramos, are supported by wordless harmonies as effortlessly airy as whipped cream." Mason credited Ray Pohlman's "clever arrangement (with adding) space to the sound through juxtaposing disparate elements like the four-note bass riff that introduces the verses and the electric piano lick that ornaments the chorus, rather than jamming them on top of each other." Mason observed that it sounded "like Pohlman had been paying particular attention to Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
's work with Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
, a resemblance the 5th Dimension later amplified on their cover of the song."
That cover by American R&B vocal group The 5th Dimension was produced by the same man behind The Association's record, Bones Howe
Bones Howe
Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe is a Grammy-award-winning record producer and recording engineer associated with 1960s and 1970s hits, mostly of the sunshine pop genre, including most of the hits of The 5th Dimension and The Association, as well as music supervision of several films...
. Recorded live in 1971 their version reached number twelve on the Hot 100 in October of that year. The recording also hit number one on the Billboard Easy Listening
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart, the group's fourth to top that chart, following "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair by James Rado & Gerome Ragni , and Galt MacDermot , released as a single by The 5th Dimension. The song peaked at number one for six weeks on the U.S...
" and "Wedding Bell Blues
Wedding Bell Blues
"Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966 that became a number one hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969 and subsequently a popular phrase in American culture...
" (both 1969), and "One Less Bell to Answer
One Less Bell to Answer
"One Less Bell to Answer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for The 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the group's 1970 debut album for Bell Records, Portrait. ...
" (1970). It also reached #45 on the Billboard R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
.
Allmusic's Matthew Greenwald wrote of The 5th Dimension's single, "'Never My Love' is certainly more well-known as the huge hit from the Association in 1967. This version, a vocal solo from Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo
Marilyn McCoo is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group The 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series Solid Gold...
, is a great vehicle for her powerful pop voice... A song that has one of the most direct, straightforward loving messages, it remains one of the most-played and performed songs of the pop era, and for good reason."
"Never My Love" was covered by the Swedish rock band Blue Swede
Blue Swede
Blue Swede was a Swedish rock band from the early to mid 1970s, that succeeded with a few singles which were covers of other artists' material.-Career:...
in 1974. This version peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 and remained in the Top 40 for eight weeks, becoming the third hit version of the song.
The Addrisi Brothers recorded their own version of the song they wrote on the Buddah label in late 1977, and it peaked at number 80 on the Hot 100 and number 28 on the easy listening chart. Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
covered the song for his 1996 album Summer of '78
Summer of '78
Summer of '78 is an album by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, released in 1996. The album was a collections of popular songs mostly from the 1970s, and was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.- Track listing :#"Summer Of '78" - 1:48...
. Other versions of the song that reached the Billboard charts in the U.S. include The Sandpebbles
The Sandpebbles
The Sandpebbles were an American R&B vocal group composed of Calvin White, Andrea Bolden, and Lonzine Wright. They recorded for Calla Records, and had one hit in the U.S., "Love Power", which hit #14 on the Billboard Black Singles chart in 1967 and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following...
(#98 pop, 1968); Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin was an American country music singer. He idolized The Louvin Brothers and The Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called The Gosdin Brothers. An inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, Gosdin was nicknamed "The Voice" by his...
and Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke is an American country music singer, best remembered for a series of country music hits in the early to mid 1980s....
(#9 country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
, 1978); and Chill Factor (#62 R&B, 1988). Other versions were recorded by popular artists as diverse as Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Booker T. & the M.G.'s is an instrumental R&B band that was influential in shaping the sound of southern soul and Memphis soul. Original members of the group were Booker T. Jones , Steve Cropper , Lewie Steinberg , and Al Jackson, Jr....
, Vicki Carr, Percy Faith
Percy Faith
Percy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
, The Four Tops, Lou Christie
Lou Christie
Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco , known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American singer-songwriter best known for three separate strings of pop hits in the 1960s , including his 1966 smash, "Lightnin' Strikes" and his incredible 3 octave vocal range.-Biography:Sacco was born in Glenwillard,...
, Billy Crawford
Billy Crawford
Billy Joe Crawford is a Filipino-American recording artist, singer-songwriter and philanthropist.Crawford is a Bilingual Filipino Singer. His second language is English and he is conversational in French. Crawford not only lived in New York City, USA, but also in Paris for five years and for one...
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence is an American singer and actor, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie"...
, Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, The Lennon Sisters
The Lennon Sisters
The Lennon Sisters are a singing group consisting of four siblings: Dianne , Peggy , Kathy , and Janet . They were all born in Los Angeles, California of German/Irish and Mexican ancestry. The original quartet were the eldest four in a family of twelve siblings...
, The Lettermen
The Lettermen
The Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
, David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
, Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
, Tom Scott
Tom Scott (musician)
Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
, Sylvia
Sylvia (singer)
Sylvia Jane Kirby is an American country music and country pop singer and songwriter. More commonly known by the singular name Sylvia, she enjoyed crossover music success with the song "Nobody" in 1982....
, Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
, The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, Kathy Troccoli
Kathy Troccoli
Kathleen Colleen "Kathy" Troccoli is a contemporary Christian singer, author, and speaker.-Personal:Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 24, 1958, Troccoli moved at age three and was raised in Islip Terrace, Long Island, New York, graduating from East Islip High School. At 15, she lost her father...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
and Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
.
In 1999 the song was recognized as the second most-played song in history, with performances of more than 7 million, according to BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
. The #2 rank on the Top 100 Songs of the Century, listing the most played songs on American radio and television, placed "Never My Love" between the #1 song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" is a 1964 song by The Righteous Brothers which became a number-one hit single in the United States and the United Kingdom the following year. In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. ranked the song as having had more radio and television...
", written by Barry Mann
Barry Mann
Barry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
, Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
and Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
, and the #3 song "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...
" by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
. BMI estimated that the song had as of 1999 received what amounted to about 40 years of continuous airplay in its 32 years.
See also
- Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1967Cashbox Top 100 number-one singles of 1967These are the number-one singles of 1967 according to the Top 100 Singles chart in Cash Box magazine.-References:*http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny2/cashbox/1967.html*http://www.cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/1967.html...
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1971 (U.S.)