Everlasting Love

"Everlasting Love"
Single by Robert Knight
B-side	"Somebody's Baby"
Released	1967
Format	7" Single
Label	Monument Records MON 1008
Writer(s)	Buzz Cason, Mac Gayden

"Everlasting Love"
Single by The Love Affair
B-side	"Gone are the songs of Yesterday" (Goodhand-Tait)
Released	1968
Format	7" Single
Genre	Pop
Label	CBS 3125
Writer(s)	Buzz Cason Mac Gayden
The Love Affair singles chronology
"She Smiled Sweetly" (1967) "Everlasting Love" (1968) "Rainbow Valley" (1968)

"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden. The song was first a hit for soul singer Robert Knight in 1967. It was also recorded by several other artists in the years since. The song was a Top 10 hit for Carl Carlton in 1974 (becoming the most popular version), a Top 40 hit for Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet in 1981, a Top 10 Album rock song for U2 in 1989, and a Top 10 hit for Gloria Estefan in 1995. The song was also recorded by artists such as Sandra, Scooter, and English pop band Love Affair. Love Affair's single reached number-one in the UK Singles Chart on 31 January 1968.^[1]

There is also a different Rufus/Chaka Khan tune of the same name (recorded by Vanessa L. Williams). Yet another song of the same name was recorded in 1960 by the late Toni Fisher (b/w The Red Sea of Mars). This song should not to be confused with Andy Gibb's similarly-titled 1978 hit "An Everlasting Love," nor Howard Jones's 1989 hit song also called "Everlasting Love."

Song profile

Robert Knight's original version of "Everlasting Love" became a hit in the United States in the fall of 1967, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Knight's version remains an airplay favorite on American oldies radio stations (as does the 1974 Carl Carlton version). Knight's version has become a "cult favorite" with the Carolina Beach and Shag Dance fans.

Knight's version, however, was easily eclipsed in the United Kingdom when Love Affair's version (CBS 3125, b/w "Gone are the Songs of Yesterday" (Phillip Goodhand-Tait)) topped the UK singles chart in 1968. Their version 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 fared better on the chart in its reissue in the spring of 1974 when it rose 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 British TV medical drama Casualty, and versions by Carl Carlton (1974, the most popular version of the song in the U.S. where it reached #6 in the Billboard Hot 100), Narvel Felts (whose country cover version peaked at No. 14 on the Hot Country Singles chart in early 1979), Rex Smith & Rachel Sweet (1981), German 80s pop star Sandra (1987), as a B-side by U2 (1989), and by Gloria Estefan (1994). 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. It is also considered one of the earliest successful disco songs on the pop charts, and was featured in the second installment of the popular Pure Disco CD compilation series.

The song features a distinctive countermelody. The countermelody, running through most of the song, consists of background vocal harmonies.

In popular culture

The recording by Love Affair features in the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).

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.

The Carl Carlton version was frequently used in the HBO series Arli$$ (usually when the end credits were displayed).

The song has been performed three times on American Idol, by Clay Aiken, Jasmine Trias, and Scott Savol.

The Jamie Cullum version of the song was featured in the trailer for the film, Imagine That.

Popular versions of the Cason/Gayden classic song

• Robert Knight (1967 - #13 US, #40 UK; reissue hit #19 UK in 1974)
• Love Affair (1968 - #1 UK)
• Town Criers (1968 - Australian Top 20 hit)
• Nicoletta (1968 - version française: "L'amour me pardonne")
• Ricchi e Poveri (1968 - as L'ultimo Amore)
• David Ruffin (1969 - album track)
• The Drifters (1969 - album track)
• Carl Carlton (1974 - #6 US)
• Doug Parkinson (1974 - Australia #22-18, Melbourne #14, Sydney #25, Adelaide #16)
• Mac Gayden (1976 - non-single; the song's co-writer with Buzz Cason)
• Patricia Paay (1977 - released in Holland and Australia)
• Steve Ellis (1978 - non-single; see also Love Affair)
• Louise Mandrell (1978 - single version)
• Narvel Felts (1979 - #14 US Country charts)
• Seventh Avenue (1979 - album track)
• Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet (1981 - #32 US, #35 UK)
• Sandra (1987 - #5 Germany, #5 Europe, #2 Israel, #45 UK)
• U2 (1989 - B-side; #11 US Modern Rock)
• Worlds Apart (1993 - #20 UK)
• David Essex (1993 - album track)
• Gloria Estefan (1995 - #27 US, #19 UK)
• The Eurobeats (1997 - album track)
• The Cast of Casualty (1998 - #5 UK)
• Dump (1998 - album track)
• Barbara Mandrell (1999 - album track)
• Jamie Cullum (2004 - #20 UK)
• Michael Ball (2005 - album track)
• Scooter (2005 - album track)
• Kerry Norton (2005 - album track)
• Mysterio (2005 - extended version)
• Sandra (2006 - ballad version)
• Charlotte Perrelli (2009)

Sandra version

"Everlasting Love"
Single by Sandra
from the album Ten on One
B-side	"Change Your Mind" (1987 Version) "Stop for a Minute" (1988 Version)
Released	August 1987 1988 2006
Format	7" single, 12" single, CD single
Genre	Synthpop
Length	3:49
Label	Virgin VEB / Amiga
Writer(s)	Mac Gayden Buzz Cason
Producer	Michael Cretu (1987 Version) Pete Hammond (1988 Version)
Certification	Silver France, 1988
Sandra singles chronology
"Midnight Man" (1987) "Everlasting Love" (1987) "Stop for a Minute" (1988)
Sandra singles chronology "Stop for a Minute" (1988) "Everlasting Love (PWL Remix)" (1988) "Heaven Can Wait" (1988) Sandra singles chronology "Secrets of Love" (2006) "Everlasting Love 2006" (2006) "Around My Heart 2006" (2006)

"Everlasting Love" was the tenth solo single released by German singer Sandra. In 1987, she covered the song which had great success in many countries, including Germany and Switzerland where it reached #5, and Austria, where it peaked at #6. The song appeared on Sandra's first compilation album Ten on One. In 1988, the "PWL Mix" version of "Everlasting Love", from her second compilation album Everlasting Love, was made especially for the Anglo/American market. This version was never made available in other countries. In 2006, a ballad version was also done by Sandra, this one being from her album Reflections - Reproduced Hits.

Track listings

1987 release

7" single

1. "Everlasting Love" - 3:57
2. "Change Your Mind" - 4:04

12" single

1. "Everlasting Love" (extended mix) - 7:28
2. "Change Your Mind" - 4:04
3. "Everlasting Love" - 3:57

1988 release

7" single

1. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 7" mix) - 3:52
2. "Stop for a Minute" - 3:51

12" single - UK

1. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 12" mix) - 7:40
2. "Everlasting Love" (PWL dub mix) - 6:57
3. "Stop for a Minute" - 3:51

12" single - US

1. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 12" mix) - 7:40
2. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 7" mix) - 3:52
3. "Everlasting Love" (PWL dub mix) - 6:57
4. "Stop for a Minute" - 3:51

12" single - Canada

1. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 12" mix) - 7:40
2. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 7" mix) - 3:57
3. "Everlasting Love" (PWL dub) - 6:57
4. "Stop for a Minute" - 3:51

CD single - UK

1. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 7" mix) - 3:52
2. "Stop for a Minute" - 3:48
3. "Everlasting Love" (PWL 12" mix) - 7:41
4. "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" - 3:57

Certifications

Charts

Gloria Estefan version

"Everlasting Love"
Single by Gloria Estefan
from the album Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me
Released	January 3, 1995 (1995-01-03) (see Release history)
Format	CD Single CD Maxi single 12" Vinyl Maxi Single
Recorded	1993 - 1994
Genre	Techno-Pop
Length	4:01 (Album/Single Version) 3:40 (7" Remix)
Label	Epic Records
Gloria Estefan singles chronology
"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" (1994) "Everlasting Love" (1995) "It's Too Late" (1995)

"Everlasting Love" was the third overall single released by Gloria Estefan on her fourth studio album Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me.

Gloria was too pregnant to star in this video ^[8], so when co-directors Tony Minnelli and Paul Lynde became aware of this fact, they drove through South Beach with a megaphone and auditioned local drag queens to star in the shoot. The best queen got a winning spot as Gloria's body double and is nearly indistinguishable from Ms. Estefan herself.

The video won a Billboard Music Award for "Best Videoclip of the Year".

Formats and track listings

U.S. CD Maxi Single (49K 77775)

1. "Everlasting Love" (Album Version)
2. "Everlasting Love" (7" Remix)
3. "Everlasting Love" (Classic Paradise Radio Mix)
4. "Everlasting Love" (Alternate Mix)
5. "Everlasting Love" (Classic Paradise Mix)
6. "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (Album Version)

UK CD Maxi Single (661159 5)

1. "Everlasting Love" (Classic Paradise Mix)
2. "Everlasting Love" (Deep Love Mix)
3. "Everlasting Love" (Hacienda Mix)
4. "Everlasting Love" (Aphrodisiac Mix)

Release history

Charts

Certifications

Official versions

Original versions

1. Album Version - 4:01

Remixes

1. 7" Remix - 3:40
2. Classic Paradise Radio Mix - 4:00
3. Classic Paradise Mix - 8:51
4. Alternate Mix - 3:44
5. Hacienda Mix - 8:13
6. Hacienda Dub - 8:15
7. Deep Love Dub - 7:08
8. Deep Love Mix - 8:09
9. Aphrodisiac Mix - 7:14
10. Classic Paradise Dub - 11:45
11. Moran's Marathon Love Mix - 9:49
12. Alternate Mix - 3:44

References

External links

• Love Affair Website
• Steve Ellis Official Website
• sandranet.com
• Gloria Estefan Discography Database