Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1957
Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers song)
Buy Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Bye Bye Love'" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957. It is best known in a debut recording by the Everly Brothers, issued by Cadence Records as catalog number 1315. The song reached No. 2 on the US 'Billboard' Pop charts and No. 1 on the 'Cash Box' 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' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The Beatles covered the song during the 'Let It Be' sessions in 1969. George Harrison reinterpreted it for his 1974 album 'Dark Horse', changing the words to reference his wife Pattie Boyd leaving him for his friend Eric Clapton. "Bye Bye Love" has also been covered by Simon & Garfunkel.
The guitar intro was not originally part of the song, but was something that Don Everly had come up with and was tacked on to the beginning. Chet Atkins was the lead guitar player on the session. Floyd Chance was the upright bassist and Buddy Harman was the drummer.
Simon & Garfunkel version
Simon & Garfunkel 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. 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.Ebel 2004, pp. 6768 Peter Ames Carlin praised their version for its "close harmony pleasures".
George Harrison version
In 1974, George Harrison recorded "Bye Bye, Love" for his album 'Dark Horse'. As well as inserting a comma in the song title, Harrison wrote additional lyrics and a radically different melody line.The Editors of 'Rolling Stone', 'Harrison', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ), p. 46.Lindsay Planer, [http://www.allmusic.com/song/bye-bye-love-t1938699 "George Harrison 'Bye Bye, Love'"], AllMusic (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 Pattie Boyd having left him for their mutual friend Eric Clapton: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,Keith Badman, 'The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 19702001', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ), p. 135. but they were incorrect,Michael Gross, "George Harrison: How 'Dark Horse' Whipped Up a Winning Tour", 'CIrcus Raves', March 1975; available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/print.html?ArticleID=20410 Rock's Backpages] ('subscription required'; retrieved 14 July 2012).Mark Ellen, "A Big Hand for The Quiet One", 'Q', January 1988, p. 66. 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."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, three electric guitar parts, electric piano, bongos, together with his lead vocal and backing vocals.
While Harrison dismissed the exercise as "just a little joke" in a 1977 interview,Keith Badman, 'The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 19702001', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ), p. 203. his reading of "Bye Bye Love" drew an unfavorable response from music critics when 'Dark Horse' was released in December 1974.Nicholas Schaffner, 'The Beatles Forever', McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ), p. 178. In music journalist Peter Doggett's description, "gossip columnists lapped up" the information Harrison disclosed in the song. Among more recent assessments, Richard Ginell of AllMusic calls it a "slipshod rewrite"Richard S. Ginell, [http://www.allmusic.com/album/r8990/review "George Harrison 'Dark Horse'"], AllMusic (retrieved 11 March 2012). and Alan Clayson 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', 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 196875'", 'Uncut', November 2014, p. 93. Ingham also rates "Bye Bye, Love" among the best tracks on 'Dark Horse', along with the title song and "Far East Man". Blogcritics' Chaz Lipp describes it as "a funky and funny comment on the dissolution of his marriage".Chaz Lipp, [http://blogcritics.org/music-review-george-harrison-apple-albums-remastered/ "Music Review: George Harrison's Apple Albums Remastered"], Blogcritics, 5 October 2014 (retrieved 7 October 2014).
Personnel
The following musicians played on the Everly Brothers' recording:
* Don Everly lead vocals and acoustic guitar
* Phil Everly lead vocals and acoustic guitar
* Chet Atkins electric guitar
* Floyd Lightnin Chance double bass
* Buddy Harman drums
Other cover versions
The Everly Brothers' country success was concurrent with another country version, recorded by Webb Pierce, at the time one of country music's top entertainers. Pierce's version reached No. 7 on 'Billboard's chart of Most Played C&W by Jockeys,[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1957/Billboard%201957-07-22.pdf Most Played C&W by Jockeys]", 'Billboard', July 22, 1957. p. 73. Retrieved February 16, 2018. while reaching No. 8 on 'Billboard's chart of C&W Best Selling in Stores, in a tandem ranking with its B-side, "Missing You".[https://books.google.com/books?id=th0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58#v=onepage&q&f=false C&W Best Selling in Stores]", 'Billboard', June 10, 1957. p. 58. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
Lacy J. Dalton covered the song on her 1992 album 'Chains on the Wind'. Her version peaked at number 69 on the 'RPM' Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Roy Orbison covered the song on his 1961 album, titled " Lonely and Blue".
References
Category:1957 singles
Category:Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
Category:The Everly Brothers songs
Category:George Harrison songs
Category:Webb Pierce songs
Category:Lacy J. Dalton songs
Category:Simon & Garfunkel songs
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Cadence Records singles
Category:1957 songs
Buy Bye Bye Love (The Everly Brothers song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1957