To All The Girls I've Loved Before

Album

1100 Bel Air Place

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Country pop

Composer(s)

Albert Hammond;Hal David

Entered Chart

Mar 3, 1984

Peak Date

May 19, 1984

Released

February 1984

Recorded

1983

Catalog #

Columbia 38-04217

B-Side

I Don't Want to Wake You"

Popularized by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, this Hal David and Albert Hammond-penned tune was originally envisioned for Frank Sinatra, who turned it down. Hammond ended up being the first to record it for his 1975 album, 99 Miles From LA. The lyrics show appreciation for all of his past partners, whose love helped him grow into the man he is today. Pairing the Latin star and country singer was not a record-industry machination - in fact, on paper, they seemed like a rather odd pairing. The duet came about after Nelson heard Iglesias on the radio while he and his wife Connie were in London. "I liked his music immediately," he recalled in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. "Connie suggested I record with him, and I thought it was a good idea." Nelson put the word out through his manager, who got in touch with Iglesias. He didn't have charts or dollar signs on the brain, because he had no idea how famous the Spanish singer was outside the US. "Julio said, sure, he'd like to do a song with me. I didn't know Julio was selling more records at that time than anybody in the world," he admitted. Hammond, who was producing some tracks on Iglesias' album, turned to his own catalog to find a suitable tune for the pair. Although "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" had been recorded a couple times - by Hammond himself and Bobby Vinton - it had never been a hit. But Hammond pulled a bit of a fast one on Iglesias. "When Julio asked me to produce his record in 1983, I thought this song would be perfect for him," he explained in a 2012 interview. "I sang the song to him with my guitar and told him it was a new song, he fell in love with it. But it was 11 years old by that time." Iglesias and Nelson cut the vocal track in about two hours at Nelson's studio in Austin, and Iglesias took the tape back with him to Los Angeles, where he continued to work on his English to improve the final result. This was the lead single from Iglesias' 1984 album, 1100 Bel Air Place, which helped him breakthrough to the English markets. The song was a huge hit, going to #5 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Country chart. Report this ad Iglesias and Nelson were named Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1984. The Academy of Country Music also chose the song as Single of the Year. Iglesias and Nelson collaborated again on the duet "Spanish Eyes" in 1988. This was also covered by several other artists, including Merle Haggard, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, and Engelbert Humperdinck. In 2010, Alanis Morissette recorded a version titled "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" that featured Nelson on rhythm guitar. This was used in the movies Everyone Else (2009) and Almost An Angel (1990). It was also used in these TV shows: Awkward. ("Responsibly Irresponsible" - 2013) Doogie Howser, M.D. ("What You See Ain't Necessarily What You Get" - 1992) Day By Day ("Do You Think I'm Sexy?" - 1988) Hardcastle And McCormick ("One Of The Girls From Accounting" - 1984)

To all the girls I've loved before
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before
To all the girls I once caressed
And may I say, I've held the best
For helping me to grow, I owe a lot, I know
To all the girls I've loved before
The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I tried to stay
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me away
To all the girls who shared my life
Who now are someone else's wives
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before
To all the girls who cared for me
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
They live within my heart
I'll always be a part
Of all the girls I've loved before
The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I tried to stay
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me away
To all the girls we've loved before
Who traveled in and out our door
We're glad they came along
We dedicate this song
To all the girls we've loved before
To all the girls we've loved before
Who traveled in and out our doors
We're glad they came along
We dedicate this song
To all the girls we've loved before