"I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)"' is a song co-written and originally released as a single by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

artist Ray Price. After becoming a major country hit in 1954, the song has been covered by numerous artists such as

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline an ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

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 h ...

Johnny Bush John Bush Shinn III (February 17, 1935October 16, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta ...

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

Heather Myles Heather Myles (born July 31, 1962) is an American country music singer, with a honky tonk Bakersfield sound. Early life Myles was born in Riverside, California, United States, where her parents bred and trained horses for racing. Heather had ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and rel ...

Sam Palladio Sam Christian Palladio Scott (born 21 November 1986) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Gunnar Scott in the ABC musical drama series ''Nashville'' (2012–18). Palladio has also had recurring roles on th ...

, Don White &

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

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'' (1978 ...

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,Gail Davies Gail Davies (born Patricia Gail Dickerson; June 5, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and the first female record producer in country music. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson and the sister of songwriter Ron Davies. Gail' ...

and J. J. Cale.

Ray Price version

Ray Price co-wrote "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" with songwriter Rusty Gabbard. The song was professionally recorded on December 28, 1953, at the Castle Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

. Also included on the recording session were cover versions of " Release Me" (the eventual B-side to this single) and "The Last Letter". The session was produced by

Don Law Donald Firth Law (February 24, 1902 – December 20, 1982) was an English–American record producer and music business executive. He produced Robert Johnson's only recordings, and as head of Columbia Records' country music division later wo ...

. Released in January 1954 as a single via

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" reached number two on the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

'' Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes list. Additionally, the song's B-side ("Release Me") reached the top-ten on the same chart. Originally, the song was not issued onto an album. "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" was part of a series of songs recorded early in Ray Price's career. It exemplified a musical persona built upon the ideology and musicality of friend/mentor

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

. Price regularly performed the song with Williams' band the Drifting Cowboys in concert. However, despite the song's success (among other hit recordings during that period), Price was dissatisfied that his sound closely resembled Williams. Following 1954, Price spent time re-working his musical image until returning to success in 1956 with " Crazy Arms".

Chart performance

Gail Davies version

Among other numerous cover versions, American

artist

Gail Davies Gail Davies (born Patricia Gail Dickerson; June 5, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and the first female record producer in country music. She is the daughter of country singer Tex Dickerson and the sister of songwriter Ron Davies. Gail' ...

released her version of "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" as a single in 1980. The song was recorded at the "Producer's Workshop" in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in April 1980. The session was produced entirely by Davies herself. Other songs included on the session included cover versions of "It's a Lovely, Lovely World" and "Honky Tonk Waltz". "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" was released as a single via Warner Bros. Records in October 1981. It became a major hit, reaching number four 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 adverti ...

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 sa ...

chart in early 1981, becoming Davies' highest-charting single on any Billboard chart. "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" also reached number eight on the Canadian '' RPM'' Country Tracks chart in 1981, becoming her highest-charting single on that list also. The song was included on her third studio album entitled, ''I'll Be There'' (1981). Davies said she particularly enjoyed singing this song because of the line, "There ain't no man big enough to stop me." The line is in the original lyrics and has been sung by all male performers of the song, but she felt it acquired a feminist twist when sung by a woman.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1954 songs 1954 singles 1980 singles Ray Price (musician) songs Gail Davies songs Elvis Presley songs Connie Smith songs Ronnie Milsap songs Nick Lowe songs Song recordings produced by Gail Davies Columbia Records singles Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Don Law