"To All the Girls I've Loved Before" is a song written by

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

(words) and

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

(music). It was originally recorded by Hammond in 1975 on his album ''99 Miles From L.A.'', but is more famous for a 1984 recording by

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

, which appeared on Iglesias's album ''

1100 Bel Air Place ''1100 Bel Air Place'' is an album of love songs performed by Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, released on 10 August 1984 by CBS Records internationally and by Columbia Records in the United States. It was the first of Iglesias' albums to be per ...

''. A breakthrough for Iglesias in the English language market, the song peaked at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" went to number one on the country chart, and was one of two entries on the country chart for Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson as a duo (the second was " Spanish Eyes", which peaked at No. 8 in late 1988).

Background

David and Hammond created the song in 1975 and registered it with the US Copyright Office on April 28 of that year. Following

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

's recording released on October 9, 1980, the song was registered as published in the US.

Commercial performance

The song was Iglesias' biggest hit in the

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

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 to ...

, and Nelson's biggest European hit. The record also appeared on the Australian, New Zealand and South African charts. The song has become Iglesias's signature English-language tune, prominently performed at his concerts since the single's release. Thanks to this song, ''1100 Bel Air Place'' became Iglesias' worldwide best-selling album. In 1984, Nelson and Iglesias were also named "duo of the year" by the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

, and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" was named single of the year by the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...

Charts and certifications

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

*In English: **Julio Iglesias **

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (Born Robin S. Camp, 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a London-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He became an American folk singer during he 1960s, and ev ...

(

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the seventh incarnation of the studio's ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. It premiered on , and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour ...

) **

(original) ** Engelbert Humperdinck **

Ray Dylan Jacobus Frederick Jersich better known by his stage name Ray Dylan (born in Odendaalsrus, South Africa, on 15 August 1978) is a South African singer who sings in Afrikaans and English. Dylan recorded his debut album ''New Kid In Town'' in 2002, ...

** Steve Ivings **

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...

. Willie Nelson played rhythm guitar on the recording. * In Spanish **

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multi-national classical crossover vocal group. The male quartet, which originated in the United Kingdom in December 2003, consists of tenors Urs Bühler, David Miller, and Sébastien Izambard. It also included baritone ...

, the vocal quartet of male singers; Swiss tenor Urs Buhler, Spanish baritone

Carlos Marin Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

, American tenor David Miller and French pop singer

Sébastien Izambard Sébastien Izambard (; born 7 March 1973) is a French singer, composer and record producer. His vocal range is classified as popular melody or ''vox populi'' to a loud, so it has a tenor tessitura phonic. He has been a member of the classical c ...

, along with Colombian producer winner of multiple Grammy Latino

Julio Reyes Copello Julio Reyes Copello (born April 26, 1969) is a Colombian producer, songwriter and record engineer. Throughout his career he has worked with various artists such as Jennifer López, Marc Anthony, Thalía, Chayanne, Kany García, Alejandro Sanz, ...

, recorded the song for the album '' Amor & Pasión'' from ''Il Divo'' (2015). *In Dutch **

Henk Wijngaard Henk Wijngaard (b. Stadskanaal, June 13, 1946) is a Dutch country singer. Personal life He was born in Stadskanaal. Wijngaard's mother was a refugee from France and his father a Canadian allied soldier. He was initially employed as a truc ...

and Ben Steneker recorded "Aan elke vrouw waar 'k eens van hield" in 1984. *In Polish ** Krzysztof Krawczyk and Bohdan Smoleń recorded "Dziewczyny, które mam na myśli" in 1985; adopted by Jarek Adam.Information in ZAiKS works catalog
/ref> ** Bogusław Mec and

Zbigniew Wodecki Zbigniew Stanisław Wodecki (; 6 May 1950 – 22 May 2017) was a Polish singer, musician, composer, actor and TV presenter. Early life and career He was born on 6 May 1950 in Godów, Poland. He started to play the violin at the age of fi ...

recorded "Dziewczyny, które kochaliśmy" in 1984. * In Czech ** "Už mi lásko není dvacet let" by Jiří Zmožek from 1990 * In Slovak ** "Všetkým dievčatám" by Michal Dočolomanský and Peter Stašák from 1994

References

{{Authority control 1975 songs 1984 singles Julio Iglesias songs Willie Nelson songs Alanis Morissette songs Merle Haggard songs Bobby Vinton songs Male vocal duets Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year Songs written by Albert Hammond Songs with lyrics by Hal David Song recordings produced by Richard Perry RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Belgium Columbia Records singles Pop ballads Songs about old age Songs about nostalgia