To Know Him Is to Love Him

"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 three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958,[4] while reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles 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 chart. The song is in 12/8 time.

"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Single by The Teddy Bears
B-side"Don't You Worry My Little Pet"
ReleasedSeptember 1958[1]
Recorded1958
GenrePop
Length2:18
LabelDoré
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector[2]
The Teddy Bears singles chronology
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1958)
"I Don't Need You Anymore"
(1959)

Chart performance

Nancy Sinatra version

"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Single by Nancy Sinatra
A-side"Like I Do"
Released1962
Recorded1962
GenrePop
Length2:13
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector[2]
Producer(s)Tutti Camarata
Nancy Sinatra singles chronology
""Cuff Links and a Tie Clip"" "To Know Him Is to Love Him" ""June, July, and August""

In 1962, Nancy Sinatra released her version of the song on Reprise Records, as the B-side of "Like I Do".[8]

Peter and Gordon version

"To Know You Is to Love You"
Single by Peter and Gordon
B-side"I Told You So"
Released1965
GenrePop rock
Length2:33
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(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 Singles Chart, peaking at No. 5,[9] while also reaching No. 5 on Canada's "RPM Play Sheet".[10] In the United States, the song spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 24.[11]

Charts

Chart (1965) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 5
UK Singles Chart 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"
Released1969
GenrePop
Length2:21
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Bobby Vinton singles chronology
"I Love How You Love Me"
(1968)
"To Know You Is to Love You"
(1969)
"The Days of Sand and Shovels"
(1969)

In 1969, Bobby Vinton released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Vinton's version spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 34,[13] while reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[14] No. 16 on Canada's RPM 100,[15] and No. 6 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.[16]

Charts

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[17] 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"
ReleasedJanuary 26, 1987
GenreCountry
Length3:48
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Producer(s)George Massenburg
Dolly Parton singles chronology
"We Had It All"
(1986)
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)
"Telling Me Lies"
(1987)
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"I Knew You When"
(1983)
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)
"Telling Me Lies"
(1987)
Emmylou Harris singles chronology
"Today I Started Loving You Again"
(1986)
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)
"Telling Me Lies"
(1987)

In 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris covered the song, including it on their Grammy Award-winning, multi-million selling Trio album, and releasing it as the album's first single. Their version hit No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart on May 16, 1987. The accompanying music video was played continuously on CMT and directed by George Lucas – Ronstadt's boyfriend at that time.[18][19]

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[20] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

The Beatles version

"To Know Her Is to Love Her"
Song by The Beatles
from the album Live at the BBC
Released30 November 1994
Recorded16 July 1963
Length2:51
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Producer(s)Terry Henebery

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 and not included on Anthology 1. The second version was recorded on 16 July 1963 for the Pop Go The Beatles radio show and 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 posthumous compilation Menlove Ave.

Personnel (Live at the BBC)

Other versions

"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Single by Amy Winehouse
from the album Back to Black (Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc)
Released2007
GenreSoul
Length2:25
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Song by The Shirelles
from the album The Shirelles Sing the Golden Oldies
Released1964
GenreSoul
Length2:24
LabelScepter Records
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector

Dodie Stevens recorded a version for her 1961 album Pink Shoelaces.

The Shirelles recorded a version which appeared on their 1964 compilation The Shirelles Sing the Golden Oldies .

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.

Michael Damian recorded "I Love How You Love Me" in 1981. It was used as the B-side of his cover of Eric Carmen's hit, "She Did It."

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.[22]

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"[23] – 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.[24]

Country singer Martina McBride also covered the song on her 2014 album Everlasting.

References

  1. Classic Tracks, Back To Back Singles; Thunder Bay Press, 2008.
  2. "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.
  3. Charles Montaldo. "Profile of Phil Spector". About.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  4. Joel Whitburn, "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", Billboard Publications, Inc., 1987. p. 301
  5. Teddy Bears – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
  6. "Hot R&B Sides", Billboard, December 8, 1958. p. 34. Accessed October 27, 2015
  7. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  8. "Reviews of New Singles", Billboard, January 20, 1962. p. 36. Accessed October 27, 2015
  9. Peter & Gordon – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
  10. "R.P.M. Play Sheet", RPM Weekly, Volume 3, Ed. 25, August 16, 1965. Accessed October 27, 2015
  11. Peter & Gordon – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 27, 2015
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – To Know Him Is to Love Him". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  13. Bobby Vinton – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
  14. Bobby Vinton – Chart History – Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
  15. "The RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
  16. "Young Adult", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
  17. "CHUM 30 – May 17, 1969". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2015. Collector's issue No. 41.
  18. Lewry, Peter (2010). Linda Ronstadt: A Life In Music, Second edition. Andrews UK Limited.
  19. Newton, Dione (Director) (2016). Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou (Documentary). UK: ВВС. Event occurs at 47:50.
  20. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 152.
  21. "To Know Her Is to Love Her". Beatlesbible.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  22. "Music row | Svensk mediedatabas (SMDB)". Smdb.kb.se.
  23. "Hoping Foundation". Hoping Foundation. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  24. "Första dagen på resten av mitt liv | Svensk mediedatabas (SMDB)". Smdb.kb.se.
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