"Bye Bye Love" is a

popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

song written by

Felice and Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were best ...

and published in 1957. It is best known in a debut recording by

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, issued by

Cadence Records Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City whose labels had a picture of a metronome. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952. Cadence also lau ...

as catalog number 1315. The song reached No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Pop charts and No. 1 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Best Selling Record charts. The Everly Brothers' version also enjoyed major success as a country song, reaching No. 1 in the spring of 1957. The Everlys' "Bye Bye Love" is ranked 210th on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

covered the song during the ''Let It Be'' sessions in 1969.

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

reinterpreted it for his 1974 album ''Dark Horse'', changing the words to reference his wife

Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...

leaving him for his friend

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 ...

. "Bye Bye Love" has also been covered by

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

. The guitar intro was not originally part of the song, but was something that

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

had come up with and was tacked on to the beginning.

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

was the lead guitar player on the session.

Floyd Chance Floyd Taylor Chance (21 December 1925 – 11 April 2005), often credited as Lightnin' Chance, was an American session musician who played bass on many successful country and pop records, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. His bass playing can be ...

was the upright bassist and

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

was the drummer.

Simon & Garfunkel version

included a live version of the song on their 1970 album '' Bridge over Troubled Water''. Following the end of filming of ''Catch-22'' in October, the first performance of their tour took place in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

. The concert included "Bye Bye Love", backed by the audience's hand clapping. Simon & Garfunkel were fascinated with its sound, so they repeated it a second time for a recording; while the first try failed, they liked the second attempt and included it on ''Bridge over Troubled Water''. "Bye Bye Love" became a farewell song and a sign of a new career.

Peter Ames Carlin Peter Ames Carlin (born March 13, 1963) is an American journalist, critic and biographer who has written for publications such as ''People'' magazine, ''The New York Times Magazine'', '' The Los Angeles Times Magazine'', and ''The Oregonian''. Seve ...

praised their version for its "close harmony pleasures".

George Harrison version

In 1974,

recorded "Bye Bye, Love" for his album ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

''. As well as inserting a comma in the song title, Harrison wrote additional lyrics and a radically different melody line.Lindsay Planer
"George Harrison 'Bye Bye, Love'"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

(retrieved 22 March 2012). Author Chris Ingham describes Harrison's version as "recomposed in a minor key and featuring pointedly customised lyrics".Chris Ingham, ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles'', Rough Guides/Penguin (London, 2006; 2nd edn; ), p. 134. The new words were in reference to his wife

having left him for their mutual friend

:Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ), p. 343. In a later verse, Harrison states that he has "got tired of ladies that plot and shove me", before apparently dismissing his wife's affair as "our lady ... out on a spree". Rumours circulated that Clapton himself contributed on guitar and Boyd on backing vocals, but they were incorrect,Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How ''Dark Horse'' Whipped Up a Winning Tour", '' CIrcus Raves'', March 1975; available a
Rock's Backpages
(''subscription required''; retrieved 14 July 2012). although the new couple were credited on the inner sleeve notes. Harrison had written their names along with other cryptic messages among the album's musician credits, whereupon an assistant then sought permission from Clapton's record company and added the standard acknowledgment, reading: "Eric Clapton appears through the courtesy of

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

."Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ), p. 152. The song also included a credit for "Rhythm Ace", which Tom Scott explained soon after the album's release: " Rhythm Ace is an electronic machine that plays any rhythm – a boogaloo, a cha-cha or a rhumba. I suppose a lot of people will think it's a person." In fact, Harrison played all the instruments on the recording, using the multitrack facilities at his Friar Park home studio: two 12-string acoustic guitars, drums, Moog bass as well as

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, three electric guitar parts, electric piano,

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, together with his lead vocal and backing vocals. While Harrison dismissed the exercise as "just a little joke" in a 1977 interview, his reading of "Bye Bye Love" drew an unfavorable response from music critics when ''Dark Horse'' was released in December 1974. In music journalist

Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...

's description, "gossip columnists lapped up" the information Harrison disclosed in the song. Among more recent assessments, Richard Ginell of

calls it a "slipshod rewrite" and

Alan Clayson Alan Clayson (born 3 May 1951, Dover, Kent) is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. He gained popularity in the late 1970s as leader of the band Clayson and the Argonauts. In addition to contributing to publications such as ...

refers to Harrison's "blatant ... liberty-taking". Author Simon Leng views it as "one track on ''Dark Horse'' that seriously fails the quality-control test ... a desperately bad offering". He adds: "In its own way, 'Bye Bye, Love' is a classic 1970s period piece, from the era when rock stars used music to settle their own personal scores. Thankfully, George Harrison only made that mistake once." In a 2014 review for ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', Richard Williams said Harrison's reading of "Bye Bye, Love" was a highlight of an album that otherwise "only a devoted Apple scruff could love". With this cover version, Williams continued, Harrison "sought the kind of return to bare-bones rock'n'roll simplicity Lennon had achieved with ' Instant Karma'".Richard Williams, "George Harrison ''The Apple Years 1968–75''", ''

'', November 2014, p. 93. Ingham also rates "Bye Bye, Love" among the best tracks on ''Dark Horse'', along with the

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

and " Far East Man".

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published con ...

' Chaz Lipp describes it as "a funky and funny comment on the dissolution of his marriage".

Personnel

The following musicians played on the Everly Brothers' recording: *

– lead vocals and acoustic guitar *

Phil Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

– lead vocals and acoustic guitar *

– electric guitar * Floyd “Lightnin’” Chance – double bass *

– drums

Other cover versions

The Everly Brothers' country success was concurrent with another country version, recorded by

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the ...

, at the time one of country music's top entertainers. Pierce's version reached No. 7 on ''

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 ...

''s chart of Most Played C&W by Jockeys, while reaching No. 8 on ''Billboard''s chart of C&W Best Selling in Stores, in a tandem ranking with its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, " Missing You".

Lacy J. Dalton Lacy J. Dalton (born Jill Lynne Byrem; October 13, 1946) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which ''People Magazine'' likened to a country equivalent of Bonnie Raitt. Dalton had a ...

covered the song on her 1992 album ''Chains on the Wind''. Her version peaked at number 69 on the ''

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

covered the song on his 1961 album, titled " Lonely and Blue".

References

{{authority control 1957 singles Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant The Everly Brothers songs George Harrison songs Webb Pierce songs Lacy J. Dalton songs Simon & Garfunkel songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Cadence Records singles 1957 songs