"So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" is a song written by Don Everly, which was released 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, ...

in 1960. The song was later a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

hit for multiple artists in the 1970s and 80s.

The Everly Brothers version

In 1960, The Everly Brothers released the song as a single and on the album '' It's Everly Time''. The song was a top 10 hit in multiple countries, and spent 12 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 7,Hot 100 - The Everly Brothers So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) Chart History
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved April 1, 2018. while reaching No. 4 on the United Kingdom's ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The ti ...

'' and ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' charts,Everly Brothers - Full Official Chart History
''

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

''. Accessed October 15, 2015British Newsnotes
, ''

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 ...

'', October 17, 1960. p. 6. Retrieved April 1, 2018. and No. 7 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade"."Lever Hit Parade" 03-Nov-1960
''Flavour of New Zealand''. Retrieved April 1, 2018. The song was a major hit in other countries as well.

Chart performance

Cover versions

In 1968, The Hombres included a cover on their only album '' Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)''. In 1969, Dillard and Clark included a cover on their LP "Through the Morning, Through the Night". This group consisted of

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

and

Doug Dillard Douglas Flint Dillard (March 6, 1937 – May 16, 2012) was an American musician noted for his banjo proficiency and his pioneering participation in late-'60s country rock. Biography Early life Dillard, who grew up on a farm near Salem, Missouri ...

The Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass music, bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. They are notable for being among the first bluegrass groups to have electrified their instruments, and they are considered to be pioneers of cou ...

, as well as future member of

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...

Bernie Leadon Bernard Matthew Leadon III ( ; born July 19, 1947) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Eagles, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of thr ...

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He had a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with " Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot B ...

released a version of the song on his 1969 album ''Tragedy-A Million to One''. In 1970, a cover of was released by Hank Williams, Jr. and Lois Johnson as a single and on the album ''Removing the Shadow''. Their version reached No. 12 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, No. 8 on the ''Cash Box'' Country Top 65, No. 8 on the ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' Top Country Singles chart, and No. 10 on

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 ...

's "Top 50 ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country" chart.

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 ...

released a cover of the song in 1976, as a single and on her album '' I Don't Wanna Talk It Over Anymore''. Smith's version reached No. 31 on the ''Billboard''s Hot Country Singles chart and No. 19 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Country chart. In 1977, Don Everly released a solo version of the song on the album ''Brother Juke-Box''. A cover was released by

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...

in 1978, which reached No. 76 on the ''Billboard''s Hot Country Singles chart, No. 73 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Country chart, and No. 81 on the ''

'' Country Singles Chart.

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

released a cover of the song on her 1982 album '' Last Date'', and as a single. In 1983, Harris's version reached No. 28 on the ''Billboard''s Hot Country Singles chart, No. 31 on ''Cash Box''s Top 100 Country Singles, and No. 14 on Canada's ''RPM'' "Country 50 Singles" chart. The Sweethearts of the Rodeo covered the song on their '' One Time, One Night'' album in 1998, but the song was not released as a single. The French singer

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...

included the song in her year 2000 album '' Clair-obscur'' as a duet with

Étienne Daho Étienne Daho (; ; born 14 January 1956) is a French singer-songwriter. He has released a number of synth-driven and rock- surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981. Career Daho was born in Oran, French Algeria. He sings in a low, whispery vo ...

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and, latterly, sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which was formed in 1970. He has written all of ...

also recorded it on his album ''

Long Wave In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, datin ...

'' in 2012.

References

{{Emmylou Harris singles 1960 songs 1960 singles The Everly Brothers songs Hank Williams Jr. songs Connie Smith songs Steve Wariner songs Emmylou Harris songs Songs written by Don Everly Warner Records singles