"Even a Fool Would Let Go" is a country and pop song by songwriters

Tom Snow Thomas Righter Snow (born 1947 in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American songwriter. Biography Snow has written songs for Gayle McCormick "(Even a Fool Would Let Go" with Kerry Chater – a song covered by a number of artists including Kenny ...

and

Kerry Chater Kerry Michael Chater (August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian musician and songwriter who was best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, but he was a successful Nashville songwriter for many years. Musician Chater was ...

(a former member of

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group active in the late 1960s. The group, formed by Gary Puckett, Gary "Mutha" Withem, Dwight Bement, Kerry Chater and Paul Wheat ...

). The song lyrics meditate on a tempting but imprudent and perhaps adulterous ("neither one of us is free") love affair. The first recording of the song was by

Gayle McCormick Gayle McCormick (November 26, 1948 – March 1, 2016) was an American singer, best known for her work with the rock band Smith. She attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri and sang high soprano with the Suburb Choir, a 150- ...

(formerly of the band

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people w ...

) on her 1974 solo album ''One More Hour''.

Cover versions

In late 1976

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel ...

recorded the song at Columbia Recording Studio in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

with

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger best known for his association with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner G ...

producing: the track was issued on Rich's final album for Epic Records ''Take Me'' (1977) and in March 1977 had a UK single release. Kerry Chater himself recorded the song for his 1977 ''Part Time Love'' album. In April 1980 Epic gave Rich's version a belated US single release (possibly due to recordings issued by

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

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

as album cuts around that time - as well as the longstanding popularity of a 1978 Kenny Rogers album on which it was also featured), resulting in minor C&W hit status (number 61). The song had had a previous single release via an overlooked version by

Ava Barber Ava Marlene Barber (born June 28, 1954) is an American country music singer and performer. She is best remembered for her performances on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' throughout much of the 1970s and early 1980s. She is also known as a recording ar ...

released June 1979. Other versions of "Even a Fool Would Let Go" have been recorded by B. J. Thomas (album ''B. J. Thomas''/ 1977),

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

(album ''

Love or Something Like It ''Love or Something Like It'' is the fifth studio album by country music superstar Kenny Rogers, released in 1978. It was Rogers' fourth #1 hit album. Overview The album's title cut (" Love or Something Like It") also topped the charts. Though th ...

'' 1978), Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn (album ''Diamond Duet'' 1980), Dolly Parton (album ''

Dolly, Dolly, Dolly ''Dolly, Dolly, Dolly'' is the twenty-second solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. It was released on April 14, 1980, by RCA Victor. The album's two singles, " Starting Over Again" and " Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to Y ...

'' 1980),

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

(album ''

Love Has No Reason Unable to approach the success of " You Light Up My Life", Debby Boone left Top 40 radio behind in 1980 and turned her career toward Country music with the release of her fourth album, ''Love Has No Reason'' (No. 17 Country). Boone had already es ...

'' which takes its name from the song's lyrics, 1980), Frederick Knight (album ''Knight Time'', 1981),

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Ge ...

(album ''Nana'' 1981),

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

(album ''

Hot! Live and Otherwise ''Hot! Live and Otherwise'' is a combination live and in-studio album by American singer Dionne Warwick, released in 1981 on Arista Records. The LP was originally issued as number A2L 8605 in the Arista Catalog. An extended version of this alb ...

'' 1981),

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits " I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of " Never Can Say Goodbye" ...

(album ''Gloria Gaynor 82'' 1982),

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

(album ''Levon Helm'' 1982),

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. W ...

(album ''Tuckerized'' 1982),

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

(album ''

Civilized Man ''Civilized Man'' is the ninth studio album by the British artist Joe Cocker, released in May 1984, his first on Capitol label. It includes a cover of the 1981 Squeeze hit " Tempted", as well as " There Goes My Baby", a 1959 hit single from T ...

'' 1984),

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

(album '' Tokyo, Oklahoma'' 1985), and Gregson & Collister (album ''Love is a Strange Hotel'' 1990).

References

{{authority control John Anderson (musician) songs Debby Boone songs Joe Cocker songs Gloria Gaynor songs Dolly Parton songs Kenny Rogers songs B. J. Thomas songs Dionne Warwick songs Songs written by Kerry Chater Songs written by Tom Snow Charlie Rich songs Nana Mouskouri songs 1974 songs