Jan 15, 20212 min read

Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton (1974) 1/16/21

Updated: Mar 21, 2021

If you were impressed by the history of yesterday's “Great Song,” hold my beer! :-) (Lots of links below!)

To quickly refresh your memory, yesterday's song was “Do You Want to Dance,” a hit in the '50s by Bobby Freeman, the '60s twice (Cliff Richard and the Beach Boys), and then in the '70s by Bette Midler. FOUR hit versions over THREE decades. Pretty Impressive!

Today, however, we've got it beat...with SIX HIT VERSIONS over FOUR decades!

#1: It all started in 1967, when Robert Knight went into a Nashville studio to record “The Weeper,” the “A” side of his next single. Never heard of it? There's a good reason for that. After recording the “B” side, everyone agreed it was a MUCH better song, so “Everlasting Love” became the “A” side. It was definitely the right decision. The song reached #13 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #14 on the Rhythm & Blues chart.

#2: In 1968, Love Affair, a London-based group, took their excellent version to #1 in the UK. For reasons unknown, it was completely ignored in the US, but #1 in England is nothing to sneeze at!

#3: 1973: Back in America, the song was recorded by Carl Carlton and released as the “B” side of a song called. “I Wanna Be Your Main Squeeze,” which didn't even come close to hitting the charts. Luckily, 20th Century Records decided to remix Carl's version and release it as an “A” side. It promptly went to #6 on the Hot 100 and #11 on the R&B Chart, and became the most well-known of all the versions—as well as a “Great Song of the '70s!”

#4: 1981-82: Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet recorded a duet version of the song, which featured an extra set of lyrics. This was Rachel's first release, and the hope was that Rex, who had already scored a Top 10 hit (“You Take My Breath Away”), would help get the song some radio airplay. It worked—sort of. The song reached #4 in Denmark and #9 in Switzerland, but elsewhere it was a minor hit—peaking in the mid-30s in the US, Canada, and the UK.

#5: 1987-89: Popular German artist Sandra had always wanted to record the song, and her dream came true when she was able to add it to her “Greatest Hits” album and release it as a single. This version was a worldwide hit, Top 10 in 6 countries, including Germany (#5)...Top 20 in 5 other countries...and it even made a dent in the US, coming in at #22 on Billboard's Dance chart!

#6: 1995: Gloria Estefan releases a dance version, and once again “Everlasting Love” became a worldwide hit, charting in 9 countries...including the US, where it appeared on no less than FOUR different Billboard charts: Dance Club Play (#1), Adult Contemporary (#5), Dance Single Sales (#10), and the Hot 100 (#27)

What more can I say? It's pretty obvious that “Everlasting Love” has been an “Everlasting Great Song:” SIX hit versions over FOUR decades (including the '70s)! Enjoy the links below—in Chronological order!

Robert Knight (1967):