"Young Love" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

, written by

Ric Cartey Whaley Thomas Cartey better known as Ric Cartey (18 January 1937 – 5 August 2009) was an American rockabilly musician and songwriter. He was born in born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He formed a duo with guitarist Charlie Broome performi ...

and Carole Joyner, and published in 1956. The original version was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones on November 24, 1956. It was released in 1956 by Stars Records as catalog number 539 and one month later by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

as catalog number 47-6751. Cartey's version never charted. The song became a hit several times over the years with three near-simultaneous versions released by

Sonny James Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's ''Billboard'' ...

, Tab Hunter, and the Crew-Cuts in 1957, and was later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

with hit versions by Lesley Gore in 1965 and

Donny Osmond Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...

in 1973. The recordings by James, Hunter and Osmond were all number-one hits: James's on the country and radio airplay charts, Hunter's on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, and Osmond's on 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 ...

Sonny James version

The recording by American country singer

was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as catalog number 3602. It first reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart on January 5, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 1; on the Best Seller chart, at No. 2; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 4; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 2. On ''Billboards country music charts, it was a No. 1 hit for nine weeks, and remained the longest-reigning of James's 23 chart-topping songs on the chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 8 song of the year for 1957. The recording was produced by Ken Nelson and was recorded October 30, 1956, at Bradley Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The vocal backing was provided by Harlan Powell, one of James's band members at the time, Gordon Stoker and one other individual. The

Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Voca ...

backed Sonny James on several songs in the late 1950s and on a few of his songs when he returned to Capitol in 1963, but it was the vocal sounds of The Southern Gentlemen, who joined him in August 1964, that provided his vocal background thru 1971. The flip side of James's version of "Young Love" was a song called " You're the Reason I'm in Love." That song was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard country charts in early 1957. In 1971, 14 years after the original, James re-recorded that song in a faster-tempoed, horn-heavy rendition as "That's Why I Love You Like I Do" (the original slower-tempoed song featured an electric guitar solo); the newly recorded, re-titled version was released as a single and reached No. 1 in June 1972. In the book '' Helter Skelter'' by

Vincent Bugliosi Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. (; August 18, 1934 – June 6, 2015) was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972. He became best known for su ...

and Curt Gentry, James' version of this song is mentioned to have been frequently played on the radio at the

Spahn Ranch Spahn Ranch, also known as the Spahn Movie Ranch, was a 55-acre (22.3 ha) movie ranch in Los Angeles, California. For a period it was used as a ranch, dairy farm and later movie set during the era of westerns. After a decline in use for filming b ...

. It was also a term of endearment used by

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

in reference to his female followers. In 2020, this version was featured in the Netflix psychological thriller film, The Devil All the Time.

Tab Hunter version

The recording by American actor and singer Tab Hunter was released by

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

as catalog number 15533. It first reached the ''Billboard'' charts on January 19, 1957. It peaked at No. 1 on the following charts: the Disk Jockey chart, the Best Seller chart, the Juke Box chart, and the composite chart of the top 100 songs. This version stayed No. 1 for a full six weeks and became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked this version as the No. 4 song for 1957. The success of this record led Warner Bros., where Hunter was a contract player, to form Warner Bros. Records.

The Crew-Cuts version

The recording by the Canadian vocal group The Crew-Cuts was released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

as catalog number 71022. It first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on January 26, 1957. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at No. 17; on the Juke Box chart, at No. 17; on the composite chart of the top 100 songs, it reached No. 24.

Lesley Gore version

American pop star Lesley Gore recorded a version of "Young Love" for Mercury Records in late 1965. Her rendition was released on her sixth studio album. ''Lesley Gore Sings All About Love,'' in January 1966. In March of that year, after the album's first two singles failed to make the top 50, Gore's recording was released as the third and final outing from the album as catalog number 72553. The single first entered the ''Billboard'' chart on March 26, 1966, and eventually peaked at #50. Gore's version also reached a peak of #24 in Australia, and #43 in Canada. The song was Lesley Gore's biggest commercial success for 1966, and she would not have another chart hit until February 1967 with " California Nights".

Donny Osmond version

In 1973, the song was revived by American

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. His version featured Donny's spoken recitation on the first half of the second verse. The

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also s ...

and Don Costa produced version became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 on the

, spending four weeks at the top in August 1973, and #4 on the Canadian RPM Magazine Top 100.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

*In 1969 a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

version of the song was made by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singers

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity ...

and Nat Stuckey. Their version reached No. 20 on the Country Music charts. *In 1976,

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

charted with the song, reaching No. 48 on ''Billboard''s country chart and No. 93 on the pop chart. *In 1993,

Twister Alley Twister Alley was an American country music group formed in 1987. The band consisted of Shellee Morris, Amy Hitt, Steve Goins, Lance Blythe, Randy Loyd and Kevin King. They released one album on Mercury Nashville in 1993. Their highest charting ...

covered the song on their self-titled album, and released it as a single. It peaked at No. 70 on the US Country singles chart.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{Authority control 1956 singles 1957 singles 1964 singles 1969 singles 1973 singles 1976 singles The Crew-Cuts songs Sonny James songs Connie Smith songs Nat Stuckey songs Donny Osmond songs Stella Parton songs Ray Stevens songs Twister Alley songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in the United States Number-one singles in Australia Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Rockabilly songs 1956 songs MGM Records singles