The Everly Brothers – Let It Be Me

When I think of the Everly Brothers this is not the first song that springs to my mind but it is a lovely ballad by them. The melody of this song is beautiful. It is a reworking of a French song recorded in 1955 by Gilbert Becaud called Je T’Appartiens.

The song peaked at #7 in the Billboard 100, #13 in the UK in 1960.

Just before this became a hit, The Everly Brothers left their original label, Cadence Records, and signed with Warner Brothers for a $100,000 bonus, which was huge at the time.

From Songfacts

The first English version of this song was released in 1957 by an actress named Jill Corey, who recorded it with Jimmy Carroll and his orchestra. This version went to #57 in 1957, two years before The Everly Brothers version. 

Don Everly heard an instrumental rendition on the 1959 album Chet Atkins In Hollywood and fell in love with the melody. When he found out there were lyrics, he brought the song to producer Archie Bleyer. Wesley Rose, owner of the publishing company Acuff-Rose that signed the Everly Brothers as songwriters and connected them with Bleyer’s Cadence label, sparred with Bleyer over the tune but lost. Don recalled: “I went to Archie and told him I wanted to do it with strings. Wesley just sat there pouting through the whole session like a kid.”

This was one of the first pop songs to use a string section – eight violins and a cello were used. It was also the first Everly Brothers song to use strings.

This was the first Everly Brothers song they did not record in Nashville. It was done in New York.

In America, six other versions of this song charted in the ’60s:

Betty Everett & Jerry Butler (#5, 1964)
Arthur Prysock (#124, 1966)
Nino Tempo & April Stevens (#127, 1968)
Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry (#36, 1969)

Willie Nelson returned the song to the charts in 1982 when he took it to #40.

Bob Dylan recorded this on his 1970 album Self Portrait. We asked Ron Cornelius, who played guitar on the album, why Dylan recorded it. He replied: “No one would be being truthful with you to tell you what was ever in Bob Dylan’s mind. No Way.”

Gilbert Becaud – Je T’Appartiens

Let It Be Me

I bless the day I found you
I want to stay around you
And so I beg you, let it be me

Don’t take this heaven from one
If you must cling to someone
Now and forever, let it be me

Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love what would life be

So never leave me lonely
Tell me you love me only
And that you’ll always let it be me

Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love what would life be

So never leave me lonely
Tell me you love me only
And that you’ll always let it be me

 

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

20 thoughts on “The Everly Brothers – Let It Be Me”

  1. You posted about Nick Lowe recently- it was Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds who turned me on the the Everly’s. I bought the Rockpile album ‘Seconds Of Pleasure” and when I opened it there was an EP also inside of Nick and Dave covering a handful of EB songs. I liked those so much I had to check out the real thing.

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    1. I’m sure that would make them happy…I found out about them through a compilation album. I then had to get their greatest hits.

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    1. Love the Everlys…
      I found them from a compilation album and have listened to them ever since. Love their harmonies…as about as tight as you can get.

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  5. They got a lot of airplay on the radio as I was growing up. Not sure if my mom or grandparent had their music but they have been familiar to me since childhood. I really can’t see Dylan singing a song like this. His love songs are usually more roundabout, not this mushy stuff. The EBs have perfect harmony. Jim Adams wrote a piece on them a month or so ago that was really good, but Jim’s “offline” until tomorrow (hopefully he will be back tomorrow if technical issues are taken care of.)

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    1. I’ve listened to them since I was a teen…Bob did it well…he was into them, Holly… Hey once I saw Dylan sing Sinatra on the last tour…anything is possible.

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  6. Played this one at the oldies stations I worked at and always got lots of requests for it. Always loved their harmony. They were a HUGE influence on the Beatles. Paul wrote the song “Two of Us” and actually sent it to one of the Everlys saying it would be perfect for them. Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon (who did record it) said that Don and Phil were not speaking at the time and they never recorded it.

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