"A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album '' Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on

Shelter Records Shelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop ...

. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover, the tune is one of Russell's best-known compositions. Russell not only sings and plays piano on the recording, but also plays the

tenor horn The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...

that is accompanying. It has been performed and recorded by over 200 artists, spanning many musical genres.

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

has called the song an American classic. One of the first versions of the song that brought it broader attention was by

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, whose single peaked at number 29 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

and number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1971.

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

recorded a version that earned him the 1994

Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

. Other notable versions were recorded by

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

in 1972 and

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

in 2005. On January 17, 2018, "A Song for You" was added to

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Notable cover versions

"A Song for You" has been covered many times since its release. The most notable versions include the following: *1971 –

recorded the song for his covers album, ''

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song written by American singer, songwriter, and musician Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, ''Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version is by James Taylor f ...

''. His version rose to number 29 on the Easy Listening chart (today's Adult Contemporary) in September 1971. At the same time it hit number 82 on the main pop singles chart. *1971 – Donny Hathaway recorded the song for his second album ''Donny Hathaway'', featuring orchestral string and woodwind parts arranged by

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

. Hathaway's producer

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

wrote that this version revealed why Mardin was known for the "fastest growing reputation among the new breed of arrangers..." Hathaway's

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-inflected interpretation has been praised as redefining the song as his own. His live performances were electrifying, evoking a near-religious experience for the audience. *1972 –

The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

used the song for the name of their hit album '' A Song for You'', and included it as the first track and the last track (in the form of a

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

). The Carpenters took Leon Russell's lyrical idea and expanded it to frame their whole album as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. Though the song itself was not released as a single by the Carpenters, they performed it on a

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

television special that aired on October 5, 1972. Their version is considered a standard of

adult contemporary music 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, quiet ...

. *1972 –

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

recorded the song on her 1972 album

Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota ''Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota'' is a 1972 album by Peggy Lee. It was her final album for Capitol Records, her label since 1957 and, prior to that, from 1944 to 1952. Peggy Lee's stage name does not appear on the cover of ...

. *1973 –

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

sang a solo acoustic guitar version for his album ''

Shotgun Willie ''Shotgun Willie'' is the 16th studio album by Willie Nelson, released in 1973. The recording marks a change of style for Nelson, who later stated that the album "cleared his throat". When Nelson refused to sign an early extension of his contrac ...

'', using his famous guitar

Trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

. With this stripped-down arrangement, Nelson brings the greatest degree of intimacy to the song. Nelson also performed the song in the 1980 movie '' Honeysuckle Rose'', and it appears on the movie's soundtrack. *1974 - Aretha Franklin recorded a version of the song. 1975 The Temptations did a cover on the Album Titled Song for You is a album by The Temptations *1993 –

recorded a version of the song on his 1993 album ''My World''. Released as a single, it reached number 104 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

, and won him a

. Charles also performed the song at New York's Beacon Theatre on April 9, 2003, as part of Willie Nelson's 70th birthday tribute (released on DVD as ''Willie Nelson and Friends: Live & Kickin''). Leon Russell sang the first verse, Willie Nelson sang the second verse, and Charles sang the remainder of the song in this unforgettable performance. Nelson, who stood nearby during Charles' performance, was visibly moved. *2005 –

featuring

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. This version charted at number 11 on ''Billboard'' Smooth Jazz Airplay chart in May 2006. It was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the

2006 Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

. Hancock and Aguilera performed a live rendition at the ceremony. *2008 – Bizzy Bone featuring DMX & Chris Notez, rose to number 61 on the US ''Billboard''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. *2009 –

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

recorded an uptempo version of the song for her final studio album I Look To You. Houston also performed a slowed down version of the song in 1991 at her

Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston ''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' is the first ever solo televised concert and video by American singer Whitney Houston. Released on May 14, 1991, through Arista Records, the video contains Whitney's HBO concert special ''Welcome Home ...

concert. It was reported that Russell was so moved by the performance that he personally wrote her a letter expressing his admiration of her rendition of his song. *2011 –

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

recorded a soulful version from her home that was included on the posthumous Lioness: Hidden Treasures compilation album. She was specifically covering the Donny Hathaway version and references him at the end of the recording.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song For You 1970s ballads Pop ballads Columbia Records singles Virgin Records singles 1970 singles 1971 singles 1972 singles 2005 singles 2006 singles 2008 singles Songs written by Leon Russell Leon Russell songs Andy Williams songs Herbie Hancock songs Christina Aguilera songs The Carpenters songs 1970 songs Ray Charles songs Song recordings produced by Dick Glasser