"It's Too Late to Love Me Now" is a song written by Gene Dobbins,

Rory Bourke Rory Michael Bourke (born July 14, 1942 in Cleveland, Ohio is an American country music songwriter and music publisher. Bourke moved to Nashville in 1964 and worked for a period in the promotional department of Mercury Records. His songwritin ...

, and Johnny Wilson. Since its composition, the song has been covered as a single by various artists from the

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 ...

and pop musical genres. It was first released as a single by country artist,

Charly McClain Charlotte Denise "Charly" McClain (born March 26, 1956) is an American country music singer, best known for a string of hits during the 1980s. McClain's biggest hits include "Who's Cheatin' Who", " Sleepin' with the Radio On", and " Radio Heart" ...

in 1977. "It's Too Late to Love Me Now" has also been featured on albums by various country recording artists, beginning with

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

on her 1978 release, ''

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

''. "It's Too Late" has also been featured on albums by

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mo ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...

, and

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

Charly McClain version

"It's Too Late" was first released as a single by American

artist,

. Released in April 1977, the song peaked at number eighty seven 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 ...

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. It was the third and final single from McClain's debut album, ''Here's Charly McClain''. The song was the first of many singles McClain would release. It would also be the first of a series of recordings McClain would make for the

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

record label in Nashville, Tennessee. She would go on to have a series of major country hits in the 1980s, including "

Who's Cheatin' Who "Who's Cheatin' Who" is a country music song written by Jerry Hayes and initially recorded by Charly McClain. It was the title track of her 1980 album for Epic Records, released in November 1980 as a single with "Love Scenes" on the B-side, and in ...

" and "

Radio Heart "Radio Heart" is the second single from The Futureheads' third album ''This Is Not the World''. It was released on 19 May 2008 in the United Kingdom and reached #65 on the UK Singles Chart and #1 in the UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singl ...

Chart performance

Cher version

In 1979, American pop artist

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

released a cover version of the song and retitled it as "It's too Late (to Love Me Now)". It was issued as the third single from her fifteenth album '' Take Me Home'' in 1979. The song was originally released as a seven- and twelve-inch single respectfully in an LP format. To date, the song is Cher's only major release to country radio. "It's Too Late (to Love Me Now)" record was a minor hit on the ''Billboard''

chart, peaking at number eighty seven. This was the same peaking chart position that McClain had with her original 1977 version of the song. The song would be one of Cher's last single releases of the decade.

Chart performance

Jeanne Pruett version

In 1980, American

artist

Jeanne Pruett Jeanne Pruett ( ) (born Norma Jean Bowman; January 30, 1937) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She also has credits as a published author. Pruett had several major hits as a music artist, but became best-known for 1973's " Sati ...

released a cover version of the song and titled it as, "It's Too Late". Issued as a single in June 1980, "It's Too Late" peaked at number nine 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 ...

chart. Initially not released onto an album, a live version of "It's Too Late" was eventually issued on Pruett's 1983 effort entitled, ''Music Row''. The song became Pruett's third top ten single in a row on the ''Billboard'' country chart. Additionally, "It's Too Late" would become Pruett's final top ten single (and final major hit) on any ''Billboard'' singles chart. To date, Pruett's cover of the song is the most successful version.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1977 singles 1979 singles Charly McClain songs Cher songs Dolly Parton songs Jeanne Pruett songs Casablanca Records singles Songs written by Rory Bourke Epic Records singles 1977 songs Songs written by Gene Dobbins Songs written by Johnny Wilson (songwriter)