Kip suggested this back in July, and I would have done it last month had it not been for the death of Glen Campbell. The Blogger’s Best Friend tells us this was written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, eventually released by Hurley in 1970, but it was done in 1969 by The Four Preps. Here’s Hurley’s version.
It’s been covered a bunch of times by a Who’s Who of pop and country artists, including these two.
CONTESTANT #1: The Everly Brothers Their 1967 cover only reached #114 in the US, but #70 in Australia and #4 in Canada.
CONTESTANT #2: Waylon Jennings Waylon released this as the B side of “The Chokin’ Kind” in 1967. His version reached #67 on the Country chart.
You know the drill: listen to both covers, decide which one you like better, and vote by leaving me a comment below, teling me who and why. Then, go visit Stephen T. McCarthy’s “Battle of the Bands” blog, where he has a list of all the current blogs doing a Battle of the Bands, and visit the other bloggers. (This isn’t necessarily a guarantee that you’ll find one there, but they’re the ones most likely to.)
I’ll announce the winner next Friday, September 22, so be sure and get your vote in before. The lines are now open. Good luck to Don & Phil and Waylon!
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
I hope I’m not too late to vote. Sorry John. Took me a while to make the rounds this week. And I forgot that it was mid-month so missed posting my own battle. A very scattered month here.
Anyway, you picked two great covers of this song! Hard choice. I’m listening to each a second time to try to decide. I really enjoy the sound of the Everly Brothers. So harmonic. And the music is really nice, evoking a mood that I’m in need of these days…
But it’s hard to beat Waylon Jennings. His voice is so … so powerful.
So my vote is going to Waylon.
Great battle. Have a good weekend,
Michele at Angels Bark
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As a loyal Knoxvillian, I gotta go with the Everly Brothers (they were a bit of a local sensation back in the day).
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I prefer The Everly Brothers. A little more up beat; not quite so sad as Jennings. I’m making this choice in the morning. I may have gone with Jennings if I had to choose tonight right before I went to bed. I know. That makes no sense whatsoever! – or does it?
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John,
First, allow me to apologize for the late visit. Things got a bit out of sorts for me by the end of last week. I have to admit I went into this battle with a pre-determination of how I’d vote and after listening to both artists it appears my decision stands. I’m going with the fabulous brotherly harmonies of The Everly Brothers. Groovy battle!
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Fun battle! I’m going with Waylon on this battle. Easier to understand and liked his arrangement better.
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Since I’m a Canadian, I go for the Everly Brothers because I like the hippy folk style they gave.
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Wow, this one is difficult because I like both versions, and I like Walon and the Everleys. I’m going with Waylon on this song because his voice seems to bring the song to life emotionally.
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I was all set to vote for Waylon Jennings. But, I read the comments before posting and was shocked by Stephen voting for The Everly Brothers over Waylon. So, I backed up and listened to The Everly Brothers again. It’s good. I really like them singing just about anything. But, I still prefer Waylon’s styling on this song. So, I’m sticking to my original decision and voting Waylon Jennings!
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Waylon. I can understand every word, and this a song that has great lyrics. Waylon’s voice brings so much emotion to the song (he always did).
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Hard to choose but I really like Waylon Jennings, so…
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Howdy, JOHN ~
‘Love Of The Common People’ — wasn’t that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign theme song? (I think a lot of people didn’t understand that when she called us common people “deplorables” she meant it in the good way.)
Ha!-Ha! OK, sorry. I’m done.
As you probably remember, I am a yuge Waylon Jennings fan. (Saw him live 4 times, and the first time, circa 1991 or ’92, is still my all-time favorite concert.) And I used to own his recording of this song on Licorice Pizza.
So, it may surprise you (and me much more so) that I’m actually going to vote for the EVERLY BROS on this one. It’s almost unthinkable that I’m not voting for Waylon, but in this case I prefer the song with the Bros harmonies and the horns. This is the first and likely the last time I will ever vote against Waylon in a BOTB. …Can’t even believe I’m doing this.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents ‘Battle Of The Bands’
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I don’t recall this song, but it definitely has that late 60’s early 70’s vibe going on. I liked all the versions, but I think I’m going to have to give my vote to Waylon Jennings.
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I’ve never heard this song before, so no opinion about who sang it better. This was popular, somewhere, at sometime? Fascinating.
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Excellent choice of song. I really enjoyed this. I like all three versions, but…Waylon. I cannot say No to Waylon. He has that driving, straightforward, urgency. His voice is great, too. I will share this with Bill when he gets home, too. Hugs.
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Hmmmm…either version is interesting in its own way.
The Everly version has a somewhat wimpy sound, but it has that flower child sound of the sixties era. I like the harmonies and I particularly enjoy the instrumentation. Waylon’s version is gritty and bold and straight-forward. It captures that sixties flavor as well.
Based on my own musical preferences, I’m going to cast my vote for the Everly Brothers.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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I’m going Waylon Jennings but they’re pretty similar.
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