"Why Can't He Be You"' is a song written by

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

that was originally recorded 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 ...

artist

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 ...

. The song became a minor chart hit was later included on Cline's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album. It has since been notably covered by

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 Ma ...

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 ...

Patsy Cline version

first recorded the song on September 5, 1962 at the Bradley Film and Recording 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 ...

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 territori ...

. The session was produced by Owen Bradley and among the other tracks recorded by Cline that day was the single "

Leavin' on Your Mind "Leavin' on Your Mind" is a country pop song written by Wayne Walker and Webb Pierce, first recorded by Canadian singer Joyce Smith in 1962. Patsy Cline was in Owen Bradley's office one day, heard the record Smith made, and immediately wanted th ...

" and the song "Your Kinda Love". "Why Can't He Be You" was released as the B-side to Cline's 1962 single, " Heartaches". While the A-side reached number 73 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

, "Why Can't He Be You" reached a peak position on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

singles chart, stalling at number seven. The song did not appear on an official album until the release of '' Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits'' record in 1967.

Track listings

* "Heartaches" – 2:08 * "Why Can't He Be You" – 3:21

Charts

Loretta Lynn version

Among the many covers of the song, American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

recorded the song and released it as a single in 1977. Lynn recorded the song as a tribute to

because the pair had a close friendship. "Why Can't Be You" was recorded at the Bradley's Barn on September 28, 1976. Located in

Mount Juliet, Tennessee Mt. Juliet (also referred to as Mount Juliet) is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee. A suburb of Nashville, it is approximately east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between two major national east-west routes, ...

, the session was produced by renowned country music producer Owen Bradley. Two additional tracks were recorded during this session that were covers of Cline's music: "Back in Baby's Arms" and "

". "Why Can't He Be You" reached number seven on the '' Billboard''

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 ...

survey in 1977. Additionally, the song peaked at number six 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 Songs chart during this same period. It was included on her studio album of Patsy Cline covers, '' I Remember Patsy'' (1977).

Track listings

* "Why Can't He Be You" – 3:40 * "I Keep on Putting On" – 2:46

Charts

References

{{Loretta Lynn singles 1962 songs 1962 singles 1977 singles Decca Records singles MCA Records singles Loretta Lynn songs Patsy Cline songs Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley Songs written by Hank Cochran