To Know Him Is to Love Him

"To Know Him Is to Love Him" is a song written by Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father's tombstone, "To Know Him Was to Love Him."[3] It was first recorded by the only vocal group of which he was a member,[2] the Teddy Bears. Their recording spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958,[4] while reaching No. 2 on the UK's New Musical Express chart.[5] Peter & Gordon and Bobby Vinton later had hits with the song, with its title and lyrics changed to "To Know You Is to Love You". In 1987, the song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the U.S. country singles chart. The song is in 12/8 time.

"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Single by The Teddy Bears
B-side"Don't You Worry My Little Pet"
ReleasedSeptember 1958[1]
Recorded1958
GenrePop
Length2:18
LabelDoré
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector[2]
The Teddy Bears singles chronology
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1958)		 "I Don't Need You Anymore"
(1959)

Chart performance

Peter and Gordon version
"To Know You Is to Love You"
Single by Peter and Gordon
from the album True Love Ways
B-side"I Told You So"
Released1965
Recorded1965
GenrePop rock
Length2:33
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Producer(s)John Burgess
Peter and Gordon singles chronology
"True Love Ways"
(1965)		 "To Know You Is to Love You"
(1965)		 "Baby I'm Yours"
(1965)

In 1965, Peter and Gordon released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Peter and Gordon's version spent 10 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 5,[9] while also reaching No. 5 on Canada's "RPM Play Sheet".[10] In the United States, the song spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 24.[11]

Charts
Chart (1965) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 5
UK Singles Chart 5
Canada – RPM Play Sheet [13] 5
US – Billboard Hot 100 24

Bobby Vinton version
"To Know You Is to Love You"
Single by Bobby Vinton
from the album Vinton
B-side"The Beat of My Heart"
Released1969
Recorded1969
GenrePop
Length2:21
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Producer(s)Billy Sherrill
Bobby Vinton singles chronology
"I Love How You Love Me"
(1968)		 "To Know You Is to Love You"
(1969)		 "The Days of Sand and Shovels"
(1969)

In 1969, Bobby Vinton released a version of the song, titled "To Know You Is to Love You". Vinton's version spent seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 34,[14] while reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[15] No. 16 on Canada's RPM 100,[16] and No. 6 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.[17]

Charts
Chart (1969) Peak
position
US – Billboard Hot 100 34
US – Billboard Easy Listening 8
Canada – RPM 100 16
Canada – RPM Adult Contemporary 6
Canada – CHUM 30[18] 14

Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris version
"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Single by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris
from the album Trio
B-side"Farther Along"
ReleasedJanuary 26, 1987
GenreCountry
Length3:48
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Phil Spector
Producer(s)George Massenburg
Dolly Parton singles chronology
"We Had It All"
(1986)		 "To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)		 "Telling Me Lies"
(1987)
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"I Knew You When"
(1983)		 "To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)		 "Telling Me Lies"
(1987)
Emmylou Harris singles chronology
"Today I Started Loving You Again"
(1986)		 "To Know Him Is to Love Him"
(1987)		 "Telling Me Lies"
(1987)

In 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris covered the song, including it on their Grammy Award-winning, multi-million selling Trio album, and releasing it as the album's first single. Their version hit No. 1 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart on May 16, 1987. The accompanying music video was played continuously on CMT and directed by George Lucas – Ronstadt's boyfriend at that time.[19][20]

Charts
Chart (1987) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[21] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

Other versions
  • The Beatles recorded two versions, both retitled "To Know Her Is to Love Her". One version was on their January 1962 audition tapes with Decca, not released during the band's existence and not included on Anthology 1. The second version was recorded on 16 July 1963 for the Pop Go The Beatles radio show and was not officially released until 1994, on their Live at the BBC compilation album. John Lennon recorded his own version of the song in 1973 ("To Know Her Is to Love Her"), but it would not see release until the 1986 posthumous compilation Menlove Ave.[22]
  • In 1972, Jody Miller released her version as a single and on the album There's a Party Goin' On.[23] Miller's version reached No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart,[24] No. 20 on Record World's Country Singles Chart,[25] and No. 21 on the Cash Box Country Top 75 chart.[26] It also reached No. 12 on Canada's RPM Country Playlist.[27]
  • In 1973, Gary Glitter did a cover, retitled as "To Know You Is to Love You", on his album Touch Me
  • In 2006, Amy Winehouse included her recording of the song as the B-side to the UK release of her single, "You Know I'm No Good".[28][29]

References
  1. Classic Tracks, Back To Back Singles; Thunder Bay Press, 2008.
  2. "Show 14 – Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 4] : UNT Digital Library". Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. April 27, 1969. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  3. Charles Montaldo. "Profile of Phil Spector". About.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (1987). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 301.
  5. Teddy Bears – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
  6. "CHUM Hit Parade - December 1, 1958".
  7. "Hot R&B Sides", Billboard, December 8, 1958. p. 34. Accessed October 27, 2015
  8. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  9. Peter & Gordon – Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed October 27, 2015
  10. "R.P.M. Play Sheet", RPM Weekly, Volume 3, Ed. 25, August 16, 1965. Accessed October 27, 2015
  11. Peter & Gordon – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 27, 2015
  12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – To Know Him Is to Love Him". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  13. "RPM Top 40 Play List - August 16, 1965" (PDF).
  14. Bobby Vinton – Chart History – The Hot 100, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
  15. Bobby Vinton – Chart History – Adult Contemporary, Billboard.com. Accessed October 25, 2015
  16. "The RPM 100", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
  17. "Young Adult", RPM Weekly, Volume 11, Ed. 11, May 12, 1969. Accessed October 25, 2015
  18. "CHUM 30 – May 17, 1969". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2015. Collector's issue No. 41.
  19. Lewry, Peter (2010). Linda Ronstadt: A Life In Music, Second edition. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781849892476.
  20. Newton, Dione (Director) (2016). Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou (Documentary). UK: ВВС. Event occurs at 47:50.
  21. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 152.
  22. "To Know Her Is to Love Her". Beatlesbible.com. March 16, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  23. "Billboard Album Reviews", Billboard. September 2, 1972. p. 34. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  24. "Hot Country Singles", Billboard. December 23, 1972. p. 28. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  25. "The Country Singles Chart", Record World. December 16, 1972. p. 62. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  26. "Cash Box Country Top 75", Cash Box. December 16, 1972. p. 38. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  27. "The Programmers Country Playlist", RPM. Volume 18, No. 19. December 23, 1972. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  28. Marcus, Greil (August 29, 2014). "How Amy Winehouse made 'To Know Him is to Love Him' her own". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  29. "You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse". Songfacts. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
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