To All the Girls I've Loved Before

This article is about the song. For the episode of "Cheers", see List of Cheers episodes § ep138.

Not to be confused with To All the Girls.

"To All the Girls I've Loved Before" is a song written by Hal David (words) and Albert Hammond (music). It was originally recorded by Hammond in 1975 on his album 99 Miles From L.A.,^[2] but is more famous for a 1984 recording by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, which appeared on Iglesias's album 1100 Bel Air Place. A breakthrough for Iglesias in the English language market, though he had enjoyed a 1981 UK number one with a largely Spanish-language version of Begin The Beguine, the song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" went to number one on the country chart, and was one of two entries on the country chart for Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson as a duo (the second was "Spanish Eyes", which peaked at No. 8 in late 1988).^[3]

"To All the Girls I've Loved Before"
Single by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
from the album 1100 Bel Air Place
B-side	"I Don't Want to Wake You"
Released	February 1984
Recorded	1983
Genre	Country pop[1]
Length	3:30
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Albert Hammond and Hal David
Producer(s)	Richard Perry
Julio Iglesias singles chronology
"The Air That I Breathe" (1983) "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (1984) "Coração apaixonado" (1985)
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Without a Song" (1983) "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (1984) "City of New Orleans" (1984)

Background

David and Hammond created the song in 1975 and registered it with the US Copyright Office on April 28 of that year.^[4] Following Bobby Vinton's recording released on October 9, 1980, the song was registered as published in the US.^[5]

Commercial performance

The song was Iglesias' biggest hit in the United States and Canada, and Nelson's biggest European hit. The record also appeared on the Australian, New Zealand and South African charts. The song has become Iglesias's signature English-language tune, prominently performed at his concerts since the single's release. Thanks to this song, 1100 Bel Air Place became Iglesias' worldwide best-selling album. In 1984, Nelson and Iglesias were also named "duo of the year" by the Country Music Association, and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" was named single of the year by the Academy of Country Music.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report[6] 4 Austrian Top 40 4 Belgian VRT Top 30 1 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 1 Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1 Canadian RPM Top Singles 1 Dutch Top 40 3 Euro Hit 40 12 French Singles Chart 41 German Media Control Charts 24 Irish Singles Chart 16 Italian Singles Chart 32 Radio Luxembourg Singles[7] 15 New Zealand Singles Chart[8] 2 South African Singles Chart 2 Spanish Singles Chart[9] 2 Swiss Music Charts 23 UK Singles Chart 17 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 5 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1 U.S. Cashbox Top 100 3

Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 29 Austrian Top 40 8 Belgian VRT Top 30 10 Canadian RPM Top Singles 12 Dutch Top 40 30 South African Singles Chart 8 Spanish Singles Chart 19 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 50 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles[12] 27 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 1 U.S. Cashbox Top 100 33 Certifications Country Certifications United States Platinum Canada[14] Platinum Belgium Gold Australia Gold

Cover versions

"A las mujeres que yo amé"
Single by Il Divo
from the album Amor & Pasión
Released	November 2015
Recorded	2015, México
Genre	Classical crossover
Label	Sony Music, Syco Music, Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Albert Hammond and Hal David
Producer(s)	Julio Reyes Copello

• In English:
  • Julio Iglesias
  • Bobby Vinton
  • Merle Haggard
  • Tom Jones
  • Hamilton Camp (The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo)
  • Albert Hammond (original)
  • Engelbert Humperdinck
  • Ray Dylan
  • Steve Ivings^[15]
  • Alanis Morissette.^[16] Willie Nelson played rhythm guitar on the recording.^[17]
• In Spanish
  • Il Divo, the vocal quartet of male singers; Swiss tenor Urs Buhler, Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, American tenor David Miller and French pop singer Sébastien Izambard, along with Colombian producer winner of multiple Grammy Latino Julio Reyes Copello, recorded the song for the album Amor & Pasión from Il Divo (2015).^[18]
• In Dutch
  • Henk Wijngaard and Ben Steneker recorded "Aan elke vrouw waar 'k eens van hield" in 1984.
• In Polish
  • Krzysztof Krawczyk and Bohdan Smoleń recorded "Dziewczyny, które mam na myśli" in 1985; adopted by Jarek Adam.^[19]
  • Bogusław Mec and Zbigniew Wodecki recorded "Dziewczyny, które kochaliśmy" in 1984.
• In Czech
  • "Už mi lásko není dvacet let" by Jiří Zmožek from 1990
• In Slovak
  • "Všetkým dievčatám" by Michal Dočolomanský and Peter Stašák from 1994

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (March 31, 2020). "La Vida Loca Edición". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
2. "Albert Hammond 99 Miles From LA". Discogs.com. 1975. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 167.
4. Copyright records of the United States, reg. no. EU575831, 1975.
5. Copyright records of the United States, www.copyright.gov, no. PA0000092147, 1981.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Ultimate Music Database". Umdmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
8. Steffen Hung. "Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson - To All The Girls I've Loved Before". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
9. Billboard - Knihy Google. 21 July 1984. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
10. "Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
11. "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
12. "Billboard Lists". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
13. "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
14. ^{[dead link]}
15. "Here say". Victoria Times-Colonist, February 3, 1998.
16. "Alanis Morissette Covering Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias Hit 'To All the Girls I've Loved Before'". Spinner. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
17. "To All The Girls I've Loved Before - MP3 Music: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
18. sebastienizambard.net, ed. (25 November 2015). "NEW IL DIVO ALBUM AMOR & PASION OUT NOVEMBER 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28.
19. "Serwis zaiks". Online.zalks.org.pl. Retrieved 30 May 2023.