- A Song for You
"A Song for You" is a 1970 song written and originally performed by rock
singer-songwriter Leon Russell . A slow, pained plea for forgiveness from an estranged lover, the tune is one of Russell's best-known songs.Donny Hathaway 's 1971 recording is today considered one of hissignature song s, even though the song was a cover and the single never made theBillboard charts .The only version of the song that did make the charts was by
Andy Williams , whose single peaked at #82 on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1971."A Song for You" is also the title of the third track of
Gram Parsons ' album, " GP". This is not the same song written by Leon Russell.Other versions
*
Angela Aki : Track 3 on her indies mini-album One. Her Japanese lyrics do not correspond toLeon Russell 's.
*The Carpenters : not released as a single, it served as the title song for the duo's 1972 album "A Song for You"
*Aretha Franklin : From theLet Me In Your Life Album released in 1974
*Dusty Springfield (Year not known).
*The Temptations : also used as a title song, on their 1975 album "A Song for You".
*Ray Charles : also performed the song at New York's Beacon Theatre onApril 9 ,2003 , as part of Willie Nelson's 70th birthday tribute (released on DVD as "Willie Nelson and Friends: Live & Kickin'"). Nelson, who stood nearby during Charles' performance, was moved to tears. Charles also recorded a version of the song on his 1993 album, "My World"
*Peggy Lee : on her final album forCapitol Records , "Norma Deloris Egstrom from Jamestown, North Dakota " (1972)
*Elliott Yamin : performed the song in both his audition for "American Idol " and in one of his final performances. It was also named number three inEntertainment Weekly 's, 10 all-time best American Idol performances. The song is also on Yamin's debut album.
*Ben Barnett , of the bandKind of Like Spitting recorded a cover in 2005.
*Michael Bublé : on his album "It's Time".
*Marc Broussard : recorded a live version of this song during a concert tour.
*Willie Nelson : on his 1973 album "Shotgun Willie ". He also performed it in his movie "Honeysuckle Rose", and it appears on the movie's soundtrack.
*Natalie Cole : on the 1999 album "Snowfall on the Sahara";Michelle Kwan skated to it during exhibitions.
*City High : on the 2001 self titled album.
*Herbie Hancock : released in 2005 with vocals byChristina Aguilera ; it received airplay on U.S.smooth jazz radio and was also nominated for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" in 2006.
*Whitney Houston : performed for the troops and their families returning from the Gulf War onMarch 31 ,1991 . The performance can be seen on "Welcome Home Heroes With Whitney Houston (1991)".
*Simply Red : on the 2005 album "Simplified" and released as part of a double A-side single in January 2006.
* Tony Lewis: recorded the song as the opener of his 2001 CD "Naked".
*Kate Ceberano : performed as part of her concerts with the Adelaide and Western Australian Symphony Orchestras, appearing on the 2006 CD and DVD release, "Kate Ceberano live with the WASO".
*Jakob Sveistrup : this Danish performer's self-titled debut album included a cover version of the song.
*Gavin DeGraw : did a performance of the song for StrippedMusic.com.
*Nolwenn Leroy : has included a performance of the song within her 2006-2007Histoires Naturelles tour.
*Chris Richardson : performed the song in his auditions for "American Idol " in Season 6.
*Gerald Levert : performed by the late Gerald Levert on the 1998 "New York Undercover : A Night at Natalie's" soundtrack.
*Robert Lamm/Peter Cetera : performed by Chicago on the 1980 album Chicago XIV. It reached #11 on the pop charts in August 1980.
*Betty Wright : performed it live and it's featured on her release "Betty Wright Live" in 1978.
*Elton John : sang it as an intro to a medley of his own songs "Blue Eyes" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues " on his 1986 tour. He did not play piano during these performances; rather, he deferred the instrumental duties to keyboardistFred Mandel .
*Bizzy Bone : on the 2008 album of the same name; produced a modern take on the song with fellow rapperDMX and vocalist singerChris Notez
*Sylvester James : on his 1979 Live album: Living Proof (double LP) did a six minute medley containing this song.
*Jasper Steverlinck : on his 2004 albumsongs of innocence .
* Risie Mayo: on the Eleventh Gala Night of .Albums
* "A Song for You" (Carpenters album), a 1972 album by The Carpenters
* "A Song for You" (Temptations album), a 1975 album by the Temptations
* "A Song for You" (Bizzy Bone album), a 2008 album by Bizzy Bone
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