"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, while the ...
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 a ...
,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
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 t ...
,
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 Ly ...
,
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 relocat ...
,
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 ...
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 of ...
,
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 ...
,
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 and
J. J. Cale
John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...
.
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 county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
. 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 worke ...
. Released in January 1954 as a single via
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, "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 music ...
'' 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
The Drifting Cowboys were the backing group for American country legend and singer-songwriter Hank Williams. The band went through several lineups during Williams' career. The original lineup was formed in 1937, changing musicians from show to s ...
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
"Crazy Arms" is an American country song which was a career-making hit for Ray Price. The song, released in May 1956, went on to become a number 1 country hit that year, establishing Price's sound, and redefining honky-tonk music. It was Price's ...
".
Chart performance
Gail Davies version
Among other numerous cover versions, 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, while the ...
artist Gail Davies 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 Pictures, ...
,
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 ...
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
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
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 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 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
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' 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.