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 his signature songs, even though the song was a cover and the single never made the Billboard charts.

The only version of the song that did make the charts was by Andy Williams, whose single peaked at #82 on the Billboard 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 to Leon 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 the Let 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 on April 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 for Capitol 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 in Entertainment Weekly's, 10 all-time best American Idol performances. The song is also on Yamin's debut album.
* Ben Barnett, of the band Kind 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 by Christina 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 on March 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 2006-2007 Histoires 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 keyboardist Fred Mandel.
* Bizzy Bone: on the 2008 album of the same name; produced a modern take on the song with fellow rapper DMX and vocalist singer Chris 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 album songs 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