"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by

the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

. The

Addrisi Brothers The Addrisi Brothers were an American pop duo from Winthrop, Massachusetts. The brothers themselves were Donald "Don" Addrisi (December 14, 1938 – ) and Richard "Dick" Addrisi (born ). Biography Both Don and Dick played parts in their famil ...

had two

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 ...

hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

s was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization

Broadcast Music, Inc. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

(BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.

History

The first recording of "Never My Love" to achieve success was by

, an American

sunshine pop Sunshine pop (originally known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appre ...

band from California. Their version of the song, recorded with members of the Wrecking Crew, peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, kept out of the number one spot by " The Letter" by

the Box Tops The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perform ...

, and hit number one on the '' Cashbox'' charts in October 1967, one of the band's five top-ten hits in the late 1960s. Their third number 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles Chart, following " Cherish" ( 1966) and " Windy" ( 1967), it was featured on the band's album ''

Insight Out ''Insight Out'' is the third album by the American pop band the Association and was released on June 8, 1967 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album release for the Warner Brothers label and it became one of the top selling LPs of ...

'' (1967). The song also reached number one in Canada's ''

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 ...

'' charts. By the time the Association's record was

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

for one million copies sold as of December 1967, ''Billboard'' noted that 16 artists had recorded the song. Their third number one single had made them a top concert act and highly in demand by the TV variety series, specials, and

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

s that were a predominant format at the time, and they performed the hit on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'', ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

'', ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it was seen Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titl ...

'', ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...

'',

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

's ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'', '' Hullabaloo'', ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'', ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...

'', '' The Joey Bishop Show'', ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

'', and a

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily identifiable voice, ...

special.

Description

AllMusic's Stewart Mason wrote of the "laid-back and dreamy" single with a "sleek and sophisticated" tune that "the dual lead vocals, by

Terry Kirkman Terry Robert Kirkman (born December 12, 1939) is an American musician, who was the lead vocalist for the folk rock group the Association and writer of their hit songs " Cherish", " Everything That Touches You", and "Six Man Band" among many oth ...

and

Larry Ramos Hilario D. "Larry" Ramos Jr. (April 19, 1942 – April 30, 2014) was a guitarist, banjo player, and vocalist with the 1960s American pop band the Association. In 1963, he won a Grammy with The New Christy Minstrels. Early years Ramos was of F ...

, are supported by wordless harmonies as effortlessly airy as whipped cream." Mason credited

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player ...

's "clever arrangement (with adding) space to the sound through juxtaposing disparate elements like the five-note bass riff that introduces the verses and the

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

lick that ornaments the chorus, rather than jamming them on top of each other." Mason observed that it sounded "like Pohlman had been paying particular attention to

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

's work with

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, a resemblance

the 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

later amplified on their cover of the song."

Personnel

According to the ''Insight Out'' album 2011 reissue, 2002 compilation ''Just the Right Sound: The Association Anthology,'' ''The Association 'Cherish book, and "Never My Love" AFM contracts: The Association *

– lead vocals *

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

– vocals Additional musicians *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums * Clark Burroughs – vocal arrangement * Al Casey – guitar *

Mike Deasy Michael William Deasy (born February 4, 1941) is an American rock and jazz guitarist. As a session musician, he played on numerous hit singles and albums recorded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He is sometimes credited as Mike De ...

– guitar *

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

– tambourine; producer, engineer *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

– electric piano,

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has sinc ...

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Ian Freebairn-Smith Ian Freebairn-Smith (born March 4, 1932) is an American composer, arranger, conductor and group singer in film and TV. He spans from classical to popular music, jazz, choral music, and new music. Early life and education Ian Freebairn-Smith was ...

– trumpet * John T. Johnson – saxophone * Oliver Mitchell – trumpet * Gale Robinson – french horn * Robert Ross – unknown

Chart history

Weekly charts

;The Association ;The Fifth Dimension ;Blue Swede ;Addrisi Brothers ;Sugar Minott

Year-end charts

Notable cover versions

That cover by the American pop group

was produced by the same man behind the Association's record,

. Recorded live in 1971, their version reached number 12 on the Hot 100 in November of that year. The recording also hit number one on the ''Billboard''

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart, the group's fourth to top that chart, following " Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969), "

Wedding Bell Blues "Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to ...

" (1969), and "

One Less Bell to Answer "One Less Bell to Answer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally written in 1967 for Keely Smith, the song was rediscovered in late 1969 by Bones Howe, the producer for the 5th Dimension, and the song was included on the ...

" (1970).Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications) The group's version of "Never My Love" reached number 45 on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. This version also hit number 9 in the Canadian charts. Allmusic's Matthew Greenwald wrote of the 5th Dimension's single, "This version, a vocal solo from

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...

, is a great vehicle for her powerful pop voice... A song that has one of the most direct, straightforward loving messages, it remains one of the most-played and performed songs of the pop era, and for good reason." The Swedish rock band

Blue Swede Blue Swede were a Swedish rock band fronted by Björn Skifs which was active between the years 1973–1979. Blue Swede released two albums of cover versions, including a rendition of " Hooked on a Feeling", which brought them international char ...

covered "Never My Love" in 1974. This version peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 and remained in the Top 40 for eight weeks and was the third hit version of the song. This version reached number 7 in Canada. Their version was an upbeat take on the song. The Addrisi Brothers themselves recorded the song three times: The first recording from 1970 remained unreleased until 2001, when

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...

released the CD ''Never My Love - The Lost Album Sessions''. The second recording was released as an album-track on their 1972 debut album ''We've Got To Get It On Again'' on

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 ...

. The third recording was released in late 1977 as a single on

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

which peaked at number 80 on the Hot 100 and number 28 on ''Billboard'' Easy Listening chart and was also included on their second album ''Addrisi Brothers''.

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

covered the song for his album ''

Summer of '78 ''Summer of '78'' is an album by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, released in 1996. The album was a collection of cover versions of popular songs, mostly from the late 1970s, and was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. Track listing Personnel ...

'' (1996). Additional versions of the song that reached the ''Billboard'' charts in the U.S. include

the Sandpebbles The Sandpebbles were an American R&B vocal group composed of Calvin White, Andrea Bolden, and Lonzine Wright. They recorded for Calla Records, and had one major pop hit in the U.S., " Love Power", which hit #14 on the Billboard Black Singles ch ...

(No. 98 pop, 1968);

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

and

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the ...

(No. 9

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 ...

, 1978); and Chill Factor (No. 62 R&B, 1988). Other versions were recorded by popular artists as diverse as Hans Christian (a.k.a. Jon Anderson, Later of Yes) in 1968, Booker T. & the M.G.'s,

Vikki Carr Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has p ...

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...

Peter Nero Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow, May 22, 1934) is an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and has earned two Grammy Awards. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Bernard Nierow, he started ...

, the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

Lou Christie Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 ...

Billy Crawford Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino actor, musician, singer, dancer, comedian and television host who released 7 studio albums and has had a number of singles, notably "Trackin'", "When You Think About Me" (a remake of ...

Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She gained international attention in the 1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema". Biography Astrud Gilbe ...

, Etta James,

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and fr ...

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

1974,

the Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, Augu ...

the Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

the Sandpipers The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of "Guantanamera ...

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

Pekinška Patka Pekinška Patka (Serbian Cyrillic: Пекиншка Патка; trans. ''Peking Duck'') is an eminent Serbian and former Yugoslav punk rock band from Novi Sad. Their debut album, '' Plitka poezija'', released in 1980, is considered the first pu ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

, Smokey Robinson, Donny Hathaway,

Tinkerbells Fairydust Tinkerbells Fairydust were a British pop group in the late 1960s, who hailed from east London. They recorded three singles and one album for the Decca label. Personnel Signed to manager Don Arden, the band members were: *Stuart Attride (guitar, ...

, Tom Scott, Sylvia,

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

Kathy Troccoli Kathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kathleen and their related forms. Kathy may refer to: In sports *Kathy Bald, Canadian freestyle swimmer *Kathy May, American tennis player *Kathy Radzuweit, German volleyball player ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Boris Gardiner Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist. He was a member of several groups during the 1960s before recording as a solo artist and having hit singles with " Elizabethan Reggae" (in 1970), " I Wann ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, Samantha Jones, Spencer Day and

the Casuals The Casuals were a British pop group from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are best known for their 1968 No. 2 UK hit record, hit song, "Jesamine". Career Originally formed in 1960 by John Tebb (piano and vocals) and ...

. The Quebec crooner Raymond Berthiaume covered "Never My Love" in French (Non, non jamais) in 1968 Mexican band

Los Freddy's Los Freddy's (or Los Freddys) were a Mexican musical group, founded in 1962 in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The group was one of the most popular Mexican ensembles of the 1960s and 1970s. Early in their careers, the group earned popularity by playing ...

covered "Never My Love" in 1968 as (Vuelve mi Amor) translated by Arturo Cisneros in Spanish.

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

released a version of the song on their 1969 album, ''Love Can Make You Happy''. In November 2013, the Japanese boy group

A.B.C-Z is a five-member Japanese boy band under Johnny & Associates. The group's former name was A.B.C., which stands for Acrobat Boys Club. It was changed to A.B.C-Z after Ryosuke Hashimoto was moved to the group from J.J.Express in 2008. Due to the ...

covered the song. In 2014,

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

recorded a version for his album ''

Tracks of My Years ''Tracks of My Years'' is the twelfth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. The covers album was released on September 30, 2014 by Polydor Records. It is an eclectic mix of songs reflective of the time when rock was played alon ...

''. In 2019,

Jakob Dylan Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers. Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan be ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

covered the song on the ''

Echo in the Canyon ''Echo in the Canyon'' is a 2018 film directed by Andrew Slater. The film is produced by Eric Barrett and Andrew Slater under the banner of Mirror Films. The film stars Lou Adler, Fiona Apple, the Beach Boys, Beck, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, B ...

'' soundtrack.

Legacy

In 1999, the song was recognized as the second most-played song in history, with performances of more than seven million, according to BMI. The number 2 rank on the Top 100 Songs of the Century, listing the most-played songs on American radio and television, placed "Never My Love" between the number 1 song "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers, whose version was also produced by Spector and is cited by some music critics as ...

", written by Barry Mann,

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

, and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

, and the number 3 song " Yesterday" by

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

. BMI estimated that the song had received, as of 1999, what amounted to about 40 years of continuous airplay in its 32 years. In August 2006, music critic David Raposa placed the song at number 152 on ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' list of the 200 greatest songs of the 1960s, writing "While the Association's happy-together harmonies might make them seem like just another chirpy pop group aching to be hoisted upon Charles Manson's petard, there's a wispy melancholy to "Never My Love" that lifts it above the rabble. This reassuring affirmation of amour is a California dream that knows the alarm could go off at any time, which, in a world of silly love songs, makes all the difference."

Television and film

In 2020, historical drama '' Outlander'' features this song during the opening of its season 5 finale episode, the episode also being titled "Never My Love". In 2021, the Netflix mini-series ''

Nine Perfect Strangers ''Nine Perfect Strangers'' is a 2018 novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty. It was published on September 18, 2018 by Macmillan Australia. It is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller. Synopsis Nine people from different walks of life attend a ...

'' featured the song during its finale. The song appears in season 3, episode 3 of ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

''. In 2021, the song is used in the Hallmark movie “Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows we Have Made.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Never My Love 1967 songs 1967 singles 1968 singles 1971 singles 1974 singles 1977 singles 1978 singles 1981 singles 1988 singles The Association songs The 5th Dimension songs Blue Swede songs Vern Gosdin songs Song recordings produced by Bones Howe Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Warner Records singles Bell Records singles Addrisi Brothers songs

History

Description

Personnel

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable cover versions

Legacy

Television and film

See also

References