"Devoted to You" is a song written by

Felice and Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were best ...

. The best-known recording was 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 (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, released by

Cadence Records Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also laun ...

as catalog number 1350. This version was issued as the flip side of "

Bird Dog Pointing dogs, sometimes called bird dogs, are a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name ''pointer'' comes from the dog's i ...

," but reached the charts on its own, at No. 10 on the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

pop charts, No. 25 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and No. 1 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In addition, the song reached No. 7 on the United States

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, ...

chart and No. 2 on the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

chart.

Charts

Carly Simon and James Taylor version

The song was also recorded by American singer-songwriters

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

, appearing on Simon's

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

album, ''

Boys in the Trees ''Boys in the Trees'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, in April 1978. The lead single, " You Belong to Me", reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, becoming Simon ...

''. Following the smash success of the album's first single " You Belong to Me", Devoted to You was released as the second single, and it also became a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit. Charting on both the ''Billboard'' Pop singles chart and ''Billboard''

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 ...

, as well as the

Hot Country Songs 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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. The song also charted in

, peaking at No. 50.

Personnel

- lead vocals *

- lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", "Slip ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

electric piano *

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

- electric guitar solo *

Will Lee William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hooper' ...

- bass *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

- drums

Track listing

;7" single * "Devoted to You" – 2:29 * "Boys in the Trees" – 3:13

Charts

Cover versions

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

' rendition was a part of their 1965 album ''

Beach Boys' Party! ''Beach Boys' Party!'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned on ...

'', sung by Mike Love and Brian Wilson. This version was later included as the B-side to the

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...

and

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

single, " Gettin' Hungry". A recording without the ''Party!'' sound effects can be found on their '' Hawthorne, CA'' compilation.

Brian Hyland Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s. AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny says "Hyland's puppy-love pop vir ...

covered the song for his 1964 album ''Here's to Our Love''.

Sandy Posey Sandy Posey (born Sandra Lou Posey, June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharp's compositions "Born a Woman" and "Single Girl". She is often described as a ...

recorded a compelling cover on her ''Sweet Dreams'' album, in which she emulated the Everly Brothers' harmony using multi-track recording. The song was also covered by

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop quartet, originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. They were ...

on their 1993 live album ''25 Year Reunion Celebration'', and by

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

and

Valerie Carter Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer. Biography Carter began her career singing in coffeehouses as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band Howdy Moon. Though they de ...

on Ronstadt's 1996 album ''

Dedicated to the One I Love "Dedicated To The One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass that was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas and Bitty McLean. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1958 songs Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant The Everly Brothers songs The Beach Boys songs Carly Simon songs James Taylor songs