"Bye Bye Love" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957. It is best known in a debut recording by

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 and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

, issued by Cadence Records as catalog number 1315. The song reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Pop charts and No. 1 on the ''

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'' Best Selling Record charts. The Everly Brothers' version also enjoyed major success as a country song, reaching No. 1 in the spring of 1957. The Everlys' "Bye Bye Love" is ranked 210th on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 1998, The Everly Brothers version of "Bye Bye Love" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. George Harrison reinterpreted it for his 1974 album '' Dark Horse'', changing the words to reference his wife Pattie Boyd leaving him for his friend

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

. "Bye Bye Love" has also been covered by Simon & Garfunkel. The guitar intro was not originally part of the song, but was something that Don Everly had come up with and was tacked on to the beginning.

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

was the lead guitar player on the session. Floyd Chance was the upright bassist and Buddy Harman was the drummer.

Simon & Garfunkel version

Simon & Garfunkel included a live version of the song on their 1970 album '' Bridge over Troubled Water''. Following the end of filming of ''Catch-22'' in October, the first performance of their tour took place in

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. The concert included "Bye Bye Love", backed by the audience's hand clapping. Simon & Garfunkel were fascinated with its sound, so they repeated it a second time for a recording; while the first try failed, they liked the second attempt and included it on ''Bridge over Troubled Water''. "Bye Bye Love" became a farewell song and a sign of a new career. Peter Ames Carlin praised their version for its "close harmony pleasures".

George Harrison version

In 1974, George Harrison recorded "Bye Bye, Love" for his album '' Dark Horse''. As well as inserting a comma in the song title, Harrison wrote additional lyrics and a radically different melody line.Lindsay Planer
"George Harrison 'Bye Bye, Love'"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

(retrieved 22 March 2012). Author Chris Ingham describes Harrison's version as "recomposed in a minor key and featuring pointedly customised lyrics".Chris Ingham, ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2006; 2nd edn; ), p. 134. The new words were in reference to his wife Pattie Boyd having left him for their mutual friend

:Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ), p. 343. In a later verse, Harrison states that he has "got tired of ladies that plot and shove me", before apparently dismissing his wife's affair as "our lady ... out on a spree". Rumours circulated that Clapton himself contributed on guitar and Boyd on backing vocals, but they were incorrect,Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How ''Dark Horse'' Whipped Up a Winning Tour", '' CIrcus Raves'', March 1975; available a
Rock's Backpages
(''subscription required''; retrieved 14 July 2012). although the new couple were credited on the inner sleeve notes. Harrison had written their names along with other cryptic messages among the album's musician credits, whereupon an assistant then sought permission from Clapton's record company and added the standard acknowledgment, reading: "Eric Clapton appears through the courtesy of RSO Records."Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ), p. 152. The song also included a credit for "Rhythm Ace", which Tom Scott explained soon after the album's release: " Rhythm Ace is an electronic machine that plays any rhythm – a boogaloo, a cha-cha or a

rhumba Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and ballroom dance, dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cub ...

. I suppose a lot of people will think it's a person." In fact, Harrison played all the instruments on the recording, using the multitrack facilities at his Friar Park home studio: two 12-string acoustic guitars, drums, Moog bass as well as

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, three electric guitar parts, electric piano, bongos, together with his lead vocal and backing vocals. While Harrison dismissed the exercise as "just a little joke" in a 1977 interview, his reading of "Bye Bye Love" drew an unfavorable response from music critics when ''Dark Horse'' was released in December 1974. In music journalist Peter Doggett's description, "gossip columnists lapped up" the information Harrison disclosed in the song. Among more recent assessments, Richard Ginell of

calls it a "slipshod rewrite" and Alan Clayson refers to Harrison's "blatant ... liberty-taking". Author Simon Leng views it as "one track on ''Dark Horse'' that seriously fails the quality-control test ... a desperately bad offering". He adds: "In its own way, 'Bye Bye, Love' is a classic 1970s period piece, from the era when rock stars used music to settle their own personal scores. Thankfully, George Harrison only made that mistake once." In a 2014 review for '' Uncut'', Richard Williams said Harrison's reading of "Bye Bye, Love" was a highlight of an album that otherwise "only a devoted Apple scruff could love". With this cover version, Williams continued, Harrison "sought the kind of return to bare-bones rock'n'roll simplicity Lennon had achieved with ' Instant Karma'".Richard Williams, "George Harrison ''The Apple Years 1968–75''", '' Uncut'', November 2014, p. 93. Ingham also rates "Bye Bye, Love" among the best tracks on ''Dark Horse'', along with the

title song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

and " Far East Man". Blogcritics' Chaz Lipp describes it as "a funky and funny comment on the dissolution of his marriage".

Personnel

The following musicians played on the Everly Brothers' recording: * Don Everly – lead vocals and acoustic guitar * Phil Everly – lead vocals and acoustic guitar *

– electric guitar * Floyd “Lightnin’” Chance – double bass * Buddy Harman – drums

Charts & certifications

Other cover versions

The Everly Brothers' country success was concurrent with another country version, recorded by Webb Pierce, at the time one of country music's top entertainers. Pierce's version reached No. 7 on '' Billboard''s chart of Most Played C&W by Jockeys, while reaching No. 8 on ''Billboard''s chart of C&W Best Selling in Stores, in a tandem ranking with its B-side, " Missing You". Roy Orbison covered the song on his 1961 album '' Lonely and Blue''. Ray Charles covered the song on his 1962 album '' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music'', and also performed the song live, including in a television appearance with

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

covered the song during the ''Let It Be'' sessions in 1969. The Brothers & the Sisters recorded a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

version in 1973, titled "Sha-Shalom". An altered version, titled "Bye Bye Life", sung by

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

and

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...

, serves as the finale to the 1979 film ''All That Jazz''. Lacy J. Dalton covered the song on her 1992 album ''Chains on the Wind''. Her version peaked at number 69 on the '' RPM'' Country Tracks chart in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Anne Murray covered the song on her 2002 album '' Country Croonin'. Ann-Margret covered the song in a duet with

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

on her 2023 album, '' Born to Be Wild''. A parody of the song was used in a commercial for Sea-Bond denture adhesive in the late 2000s. Within the music industry, the use of the song in that matter was a cautionary tale for how allowing a song to be used in advertising can go wrong; songwriter and producer Bob Gaudio recalled the advertisement when discussing the tight rein he held over his catalog with the Four Seasons Partnership: "Even now I have to turn it off if it shows up on YouTube. It’s just terrible."

References

{{authority control 1957 singles Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant The Everly Brothers songs George Harrison songs Webb Pierce songs Lacy J. Dalton songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Cadence Records singles 1957 songs