"Faded Love" is a

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

song written by

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of

American fiddle American fiddle-playing began with the early settlers who found that the small ''viol'' family instruments were portable and rugged. According to Ron Yule, "John Utie, a 1620 immigrant, settled in the North and is credited as being the first known ...

. The melody came from an 1856 ballad, " Darling Nelly Gray", which John Wills knew as a fiddle tune. "Faded Love" is a sentimental song about lost love. The name comes from the refrain that follows each verse: "I remember our faded love". The song was a major hit for Bob Wills and

the Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

(MGM 10786) reaching number eight on the Country charts in 1950. It became one of his signature songs.

Other versions

Leon McAuliffe William Leon McAuliffe (January 3, 1917 – August 20, 1988) was an American Western swing guitarist who was a member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys during the 1930s. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a me ...

had two Top 40 hits with "Faded Love", both reaching number 22 (Cimarron 4057, 1962, and MGM 14249, 1971). The former was an instrumental version, and the latter rendition was a collaboration with

Tompall & the Glaser Brothers Tompall & the Glaser Brothers were an American country music group composed of three brothers: Chuck (February 27, 1936 – June 10, 2019), Jim (December 16, 1937 – April 6, 2019), and Tompall (September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013) Glaser. The ...

.Whitburn, ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits'', p. 218. Also in 1962, it was a modest hit for

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwr ...

, reaching number 97 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song had greater success when

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

covered it in 1963. Her version became a hit, reaching number seven on the U.S. Country charts and number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Due to the airplane crash that ended Cline's life, her version was never released on a studio album. Instead, it was belatedly released on '' Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits'', a compilation album in 1967. Cline's version was originally intended to be the title cut for a planned album, and was made at what turned out to be the last recording session before her death. A recording made by Ray Price and

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 ...

was the biggest hit version from a chart standpoint. Their duet version — which featured

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

singing harmony on the chorus — reached number three on 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 advertise ...

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in October 1980. The song, which came out at a time when Nelson was country music's biggest superstar, gave Price his first top 10 hit in more than five years and biggest hit in seven years.

References

Bibliography

*McWhorter, Frankie. ''Cowboy Fiddler in Bob Wills' Band''. University of North Texas Press, 1997. *Whitburn, Joel. ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits''. Billboard Books, 2006. {{authority control 1950 songs 1950 singles Bob Wills songs 1963 singles 1980 singles Patsy Cline songs Elvis Presley songs Leon McAuliffe songs Willie Nelson songs Ray Price (musician) songs Tompall & the Glaser Brothers songs Dottie West songs Western swing songs Jackie DeShannon songs Songs written by Bob Wills Symbols of Oklahoma