"When Will I Be Loved" is a popular song written by Phil Everly of

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

, who had a US top-ten hit with it in 1960.

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

covered the song in 1975, and her version was an even bigger hit in the US, peaking at No. 2.

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

also covered it in 1994 on the soundtrack of the film ''

8 Seconds ''8 Seconds'' is a 1994 American contemporary Western biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen. Its title refers to the length of time a bull rider is required to stay on for a ride to be scored. It stars Luke Perry as American rodeo le ...

''.

The Everly Brothers version

Background

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

scored a number 8 hit single with "When Will I Be Loved" in the summer of 1960 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The track had been recorded in 1960 while the duo were contracted to

Cadence Records Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also lau ...

; they moved to

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

and rerecorded it in a more mainstream pop/rock style. The belated release by Cadence of "When Will I Be Loved" provided the Everly Brothers with a final

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

-style hit.

Personnel

The session, produced by

Archie Bleyer Archibald Martin Bleyer (June 12, 1909 – March 20, 1989) was an American song arranger, bandleader, and record company executive. Early life Bleyer was born in the Corona section of the New York City borough of Queens. His father was a well-kn ...

, took place on February 18, 1960, at the RCA Studio in Nashville. Those present at the session included: *

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

– guitar, vocals * Phil Everly – guitar, vocals *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

, guitar * Hank Garland, guitar * Luther Brandon, guitar * Lightnin Chance, bass *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

, drums * Floyd Cramer, piano

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Linda Ronstadt version

Background

The song had its highest profile when

covered it on her album '' Heart Like A Wheel''. This version (which is technically a group vocal with Ronstadt,

Kenny Edwards Kenneth Michael Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator wi ...

, and a then-up-and-coming singer/songwriter,

Andrew Gold Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) was an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who influenced much of the Los Angeles-dominated pop/soft rock sound in the 1970s. Gold played on scores of reco ...

) rearranges the verses of the Everly Brothers original, transposing the first and fourth verses. Capitol Records was reportedly unsure whether to release "When Will I Be Loved" or " You're No Good" as the lead 45 off of ''Heart Like a Wheel'', finally deciding to issue "You're No Good" as the premier single. "When Will I Be Loved" was issued as the second single in March 1975. The song hit number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June of that year, as well as number 1 in ''Cash Box''; only the chart dominance of the year's biggest hit, "

Love Will Keep Us Together "Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing almost entirely by “Captain� ...

" by

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinu ...

, prevented Ronstadt from having consecutive number 1 hit singles on the Hot 100. ''Billboard'' did afford a number 1 ranking to "When Will I Be Loved" on its C&W chart. The song has sold 268,000 copies in the United States since becoming available for digital download as of January 2020. As Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved" descended the charts, its B-side, a remake of Buddy Holly's " It Doesn't Matter Anymore", garnered enough airplay to chart at number 47 Pop, number 20

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

, and number 54

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Little River Band version

Australian band

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...

released a version in June 1989 as the only single from the rarities compilation album '' Too Late to Load''. The song peaked at number 169 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offic ...

Track listing

; Australian 7" (Capitol Records - CP 1895) :A. "When Will I Be Loved" - 2:50 :B. "D" - 3:03

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1960 songs 1960 singles 1975 singles 1989 singles 2009 singles Songs written by Phil Everly The Everly Brothers songs Linda Ronstadt songs Little River Band songs Cashbox number-one singles Song recordings produced by Peter Asher Cadence Records singles Capitol Records singles EMI Records singles