"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. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

artist

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

. The song became a minor chart hit, and 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 creat ...

'' 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 "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

and also by

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in 1989 along ...

as "Why Can't She Be You".

Patsy Cline version

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States. The session was produced by

Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician, bandleader and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was a chief architect of the 1950s and 60s Nashville sou ...

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 the ...

" 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, also known as simply the 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), ...

, "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 ''Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits'' is a compilation consisting of American country pop music singer, Patsy Cline's greatest hits. The album consists of Cline's biggest hits between 1957 and 1963. It is one of the biggest-selling albums in the United ...

'' 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 popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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

Bradley's Barn Bradley's Barn was a music recording studio founded in the mid-1960s by Owen Bradley. The studio was built in a converted barn on farmland in the Nashville suburb of Mount Juliet, and was the site of numerous notable recordings by artists includ ...

studio in

Mount Juliet, Tennessee Mt. Juliet (also referred to as Mount Juliet) is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. A suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is approximately east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between ...

on September 28, 1976. The recording session was produced by the studio's owner, renowned country music producer

. 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 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 advertis ...

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 along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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 r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 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