"The Twelfth of Never" is a popular song written in 1956 and first recorded by Johnny Mathis the following year. The title is a popular expression, 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. Mathis initially disliked the song, which was released as the flip side to his number 1 hit single " Chances Are". It was written by

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

and Paul Francis Webster, the tune (except for the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

) being adapted from "

The Riddle Song "The Riddle Song", also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry", is an English folk song, a lullaby carried over by settlers to the American Appalachians. History "The Riddle Song" descends from a 15th-century English song in which a maiden says sh ...

" (also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry"), an old

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk song. Mathis's original version reached number 9 on what is now called the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1957. A version by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

was released in 1964 and reached number 8 in the UK. Donny Osmond's version, produced by Mike Curb and

Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''. ...

, was his second number 1 single in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1973. In the U.S. it peaked at number 8.

Chart performance

Johnny Mathis original Cliff Richard version Donny Osmond version

Certifications

;Donny Osmond version

Notable cover versions

*1963:

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

recorded her version on her album '' Folsky Nina''. *1970:

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

recorded her version on her album '' The Ways to Love a Man''. *1977ː David Houston on his album ''David Houston'' (single, reached #98 on US Billboard Country chart) *1989:

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

on her 1989 album '' Warm and Tender''. *1993:

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

: performed and recorded at his live performance and album ''

Live at Sin-é ''Live at Sin-é'' is a live EP by Jeff Buckley. The four-song EP was Buckley's first commercial recording and was released in November 1993 on Columbia Records. The EP captured Buckley, accompanying himself on a Fender Telecaster, in the S ...

'' *1995:

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

: a rehearsal recorded in 1974 was released as a single and reached #21 in the UK. *2005:

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

on Parton's album ''

Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

'' *2018:

Jan Rot Jan Rot (25 December 1957 – 22 April 2022) was a Dutch singer-songwriter born in Makassar, who was famous in the Netherlands for his many translations of songs, pop as well as classical ones. His Dutch translation of Bach's ''St Matthew Pas ...

did a version in Dutch on his album ''Magistraal'', the non-existing date translated as '30 Februari'.

References

;Notes ;Works cited * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Twelfth of Never, The 1957 singles 1969 singles 1973 singles Songs written by Jerry Livingston Songs with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster Andy Williams songs Johnny Mathis songs The Chi-Lites songs Cliff Richard songs Donny Osmond songs Barry Gibb songs Cher songs Oliver (singer) songs Tammy Wynette songs Olivia Newton-John songs Dolly Parton songs Keith Urban songs Elvis Presley songs Glen Campbell songs Barry Manilow songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles 1956 songs MGM Records singles Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Norrie Paramor Columbia Graphophone Company singles David Houston (singer) songs 1950s ballads