"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 100chart in 1958,[4] while reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart 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.
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]
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,[13] while reaching No. 8 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart,[14] No. 16 on Canada's RPM 100,[15] and No. 6 on RPM's Adult Contemporary chart.[16]
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 #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[18][19].
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.
Dodie Stevens recorded a version for her 1961 album Pink Shoelaces.
The Shirelles recorded a version which appeared on their 1964 compilation The Shirelles Sing the Golden Oldies .
British rock star Gary Glitter recorded a version on his second studio album Touch Me in 1973, which reached No. 2 in the UK charts.
Steeleye Span played a cover of the song on their 1974 album Now We Are Six, which features, as a guest, David Bowie on alto saxophone. The inclusion of a rock 'n' roll standard baffled many listeners who had come to expect Steeleye Span's interpretations of traditional fare; what is generally not known, however, is that the track does represent an aspect of Steeleye Span's live show at that time (1974). They were known for doing a rock 'n' roll encore during this period, influenced by the band Sha Na Na with whom they toured.
David Bromberg included a version on his album My Own House (Fantasy 9572, 1978). He recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal live, and then overdubbed a slide guitar part.
Michael Damian recorded "I Love How You Love Me" in 1981. It was used as the B-side of his cover of Eric Carmen's hit, "She Did It."
On July 10, 2010. the song was performed by David Gilmour and Roger Waters when they played a concert in aid of the "Hoping Foundation"[23] – their first performance together since Pink Floyd's gig for Live 8 in July 2005 – as a tongue-in-cheek reference to their often-volatile creative relationship.
^"CHUM 30 – May 17, 1969". CHUM. Archived from the original on November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Collector's issue No. 41.
