Peak
1
Weeks
14
Score
2,991
Chart Year
1975
Peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, this song was originally a hit for Jerry Butler (who wrote the song with Curtis Mayfield and Calvin Carter) in 1960 under the title "He Will Break Your Heart" before Tony Orlando & Dawn released their chart-topping version in 1975. The idea to remake this song actually came from actress Faye Dunaway and her then-husband Peter Wolf, the lead singer for The J. Geils Band, after Orlando and Wolf spontaneously sang the song together while waiting to attend a Golden Globes ceremony. Dolly Parton covered this song as "She Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" for her 1984 album The Great Pretender. Nicolas Cage performed the Jerry Butler version of this song in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). This lands in our bad grammar category for using the wrong contraction in the title, which should read "He Doesn't Love You (Like I Love You)." (Doesn't is used when the subject is he, she, or it; don't is used with the subjects I, you, we, or they.) As it stands, the title suggests "He Do Not Love You," a fact not lost on the grammar-conscious Butler. In a 2011 interview, the singer spoke of the title change: "When we released it, we didn't want to call it 'He Don't Love You Like I Love You' because that's bad grammar. Funny thing about that is, a couple years later Tony Orlando comes along with Dawn and he puts it on the album just like that and it's a hit," he laughed. "Just goes to show that as time goes by, things do indeed change."
CHORUS He don't love you like I love you If he did, he wouldn't break your heart He don't love you like I love you He's try-in' to tear us apart Fare thee well, I know you're leavin' (I know you're leavin') For the new love that you've found The handsome guy that you've been dating, whoa I got a feelin' he's gonna put you down 'cause CHORUS He uses all the great quotations Says the things I wish I could say Whoa, but he's has so many rehearsals Girl, to him it's just another play but wait When the final act is over And you're left standing all alone When he takes his bow and makes his exit Girl, I'll be there to take you home He don't love you (and he never will) like I love you If he did, he wouldn't break your heart Oh, he don't love you, girl, like I love you He's try-in' to tear us apart Whoa, he don't love you FADE
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 15, 1975 | 55 | 71 |
| 2 | Mar 22, 1975 | 44 | 82 |
| 3 | Mar 29, 1975 | 33 | 93 |
| 4 | Apr 5, 1975 | 27 | 99 |
| 5 | Apr 12, 1975 | 23 | 103 |
| 6 | Apr 19, 1975 | 5 | 121 |
| 7 | Apr 26, 1975 | 3 | 123 |
| 8 | May 3, 1975 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | May 10, 1975 | 1 | 125 |
| 10 | May 17, 1975 | 1 | 125 |
| 11 | May 24, 1975 | 7 | 119 |
| 12 | May 31, 1975 | 16 | 110 |
| 13 | Jun 7, 1975 | 43 | 83 |
| 14 | Jun 14, 1975 | 54 | 72 |