"I'll Love You More (Than You'll Need)" 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, ...

singer

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

. Released in 1968 as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

, it became her third top ten single on the US country chart songs chart. The song also served as the title track to Seely's 1968 studio album ''

I'll Love You More ''I'll Love You More'' is a studio album by American country artist Jeannie Seely. It was released by Monument Records in February 1968 and was the third studio album of her career. The project consisted of 11 tracks whose themes centered on heart ...

'' and received a positive response from critics following its release.

Background and recording

Jeannie Seely broke through into the country music mainstream with 1966's "

Don't Touch Me "Don't Touch Me" is a song written by Hank Cochran. It was originally written for and recorded by American country artist Jeannie Seely. The song was released as a single on Monument Records in March 1966 and became a major ''Billboard'' country ...

". The Hank Cochran-penned ballad later provided her with a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

and became a top ten single for Seely. Her follow-up singles made the top 20 and would be followed by her top ten song "I'll Love You More (Than You Need)". Described as a ballad, the song was also penned by Hank Cochran and was produced by

Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records and Combine Music. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbi ...

Release, critical reception and chart performance

"I'll Love You More (Than You Need)" was released as a single by Monument Records in October 1967. The record label issued it as a seven-inch vinyl record and featured a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

titled "Enough to Lie" (written by Seely). The song was given a positive review by ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' magazine who wrote, "Again penned by Hank Cochran, this pretty ballad is one of the highlights of Monument’s 'Jeannie Seely Month' for the month of October." When reviewing Seely's '' Greatest Hits on Monument'' compilation,

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

named the track as being among the disc's "great records". ''

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 ...

'' believed it to be a "strong commercial entry" and predicted it would make their top ten list. "I'll Love You More (Than You Need)" debuted on the US ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs 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. ...

chart on October 28, 1967. It spent 15 weeks on the chart, rising to the number ten position on January 6, 1967. It became Seely's second top ten ''Billboard'' chart single and fourth to place in the top 20. It also her fifth single to reach the chart's top 40 list. It served as the lead track to her 1968 studio album, also titled ''I'll Love You More''.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "I'll Love You More (Than You Need)" – 2:43 * "Enough to Lie" – 2:35

Charts

Weekly charts

References

{{authority control 1967 singles 1967 songs Monument Records singles Jeannie Seely songs Songs written by Hank Cochran Song recordings produced by Fred Foster