From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Everlasting Love" is a song first made famous by Love Affair, an English pop group. It was written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden and first recorded by Robert Knight, whose minor success with the song in 1967 was eclipsed when Love Affair's version topped the UK singles chart in 1968. Theirs entered the UK chart on 3 January that year, and that by Knight on 17 January, for two weeks, reaching no higher than No. 40. It had previously been offered to Marmalade, another group on CBS, but they rejected it as they thought it too pop-oriented for them.

Knight's version was re-issued in the UK, and made the charts again in 1974. It had however reached No. 13 in the US in the autumn of 1967, and a reissue in the UK in spring 1974 saw it rise to No. 19.

Since then it has been taken into the same chart by a number of further artists. Covers include the reworking by jazz artist Jamie Cullum, a charity version by the stars of the TV medical drama Casualty, and versions by Carl Carlton (1974), Gloria Estefan (1994), Rex Smith & Rachel Sweet (1981) and on a B-side by U2. The song's timeless melody, and distinctive optimistic lyrics, make it one of the defining 1960s pop songs. According to Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), the 1974 Carl Carlton version has been played more than 4 million times.

In 2006, Pringles used the song in a television advert for their crisps.

A portion of the Carl Carlton 1974 version has also been used in a Hallmark musical card sold in the U.S and Canada.

There is also a different Rufus/Chaka Khan tune of the same name (recorded by Vanessa Lynn Williams). Yet another song of the same name was recorded in 1960 by the late Toni Fisher (b/w The Red Sea of Mars).

• Robert Knight (1967 - #13 US, #40 UK) (reissue hit #19 UK in 1974)
• Love Affair (1968 - #1 UK)
• Town Criers (1968)
• Ricchi e Poveri (as L'ultimo Amore) (1968)
• David Ruffin (1969)
• Carl Carlton (1974 - #6 US)
• Narvel Felts (1979 - #14 US Country charts)
• Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet (1981 - #32 US, #35 UK)
• Sandra (1987- #5 Germany, #8 Netherlands, #11 Italy, #5 Europe, #12 France, #5 Switzerland, #2 Israel, #13 Sweden)
• U2 (1989 - #11 US Modern Rock)
• Worlds Apart (1993 - #20 UK)
• David Essex (1993)
• Gloria Estefan (1995 - #27 US, #19 UK)
• The Cast of Casualty (1998 - #5 UK)
• Jamie Cullum (2004 - #20 UK)
• Scooter (2005)
• Kerry Norton (2005)
• Sandra (ballad version)(2006)
• Mysterio (2005 Extended Version)

This music single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.