"You're No Good" | |
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Single by Dee Dee Warwick | |
B-side | "Don't Call Me" |
Released | 1963 |
Genre | R&B |
Length | 2:30 |
Label | Jubilee |
Songwriter(s) | Clint Ballard Jr. |
Producer(s) | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller |
"You're No Good" is a song written by Clint Ballard Jr., first performed by Dee Dee Warwick for Jubilee Records in 1963 with production by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has since been covered by many artists, including charting versions by Betty Everett in 1963, the Swinging Blue Jeans in 1964, and Linda Ronstadt in 1974, whose version was a number 1 hit in the United States.
In the lyrics, the singer tells her ex that she's glad they broke up because he's "no good."
"You're No Good" | ||||
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Single by Betty Everett | ||||
from the album You're No Good | ||||
B-side | "Chained to Your Love" | |||
Released | 1963 | |||
Recorded | September 12, 1963 [1] | |||
Genre | Soul [2] | |||
Length | 2:18 | |||
Label | Vee-Jay 566 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Clint Ballard Jr. | |||
Betty Everett singles chronology | ||||
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Betty Everett's version for Vee-Jay Records of Chicago became the first hit version in November 1963. The single peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 5 on "Cashbox's R&B Locations" chart. [3]
Vee-Jay's head A&R man Calvin Carter found the song while visiting New York City in search of material for his label's roster. He originally intended to cut "You're No Good" with Dee Clark but, he recalled: "when I went to rehearsal with the tune, it was so negative, I said, 'Hey, guys don't talk negative about girls, because girls are the record buyers. No, I better pass on that.' So I gave the song to Betty Everett." During the playback of Everett's track her label-mates the Dells "were sitting on the wooden platform where the string players would sit... just stomping their feet on this wooden platform to the beat of the song as it was playing back... I told the engineer 'Let's do it again, and let's mic those foot sounds, 'cause it really gave it a hell of a beat.' So we did that, and boom, a hit." [4]
"You're No Good" | ||||
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Single by the Swinging Blue Jeans | ||||
B-side | "Don't You Worry About Me" | |||
Released | May 1964 | |||
Genre | Beat | |||
Label | HMV | |||
Songwriter(s) | Clint Ballard Jr. | |||
Producer(s) | Walter J. Ridley | |||
The Swinging Blue Jeans singles chronology | ||||
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In the UK, the Swinging Blue Jeans had the hit version of "You're No Good", reaching number 3 in the summer of 1964. Sue Johnston, then personal assistant to Peter Brown, was dating Swinging Blue Jeans drummer Norman Kuhlke and claims that she brought "You're No Good" to the attention of the Swinging Blue Jeans. [5] Their version also charted in France at number 26 and was successful enough regionally in the US to reach number 97 on the Hot 100.
"You're No Good" | ||||
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Single by Linda Ronstadt | ||||
from the album Heart Like a Wheel | ||||
B-side | "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" (w/ Emmylou Harris) | |||
Released | November 19, 1974 | |||
Recorded | July 5, 1974 | |||
Studio | The Sound Factory, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:44 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Songwriter(s) | Clint Ballard Jr. | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Asher | |||
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology | ||||
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Linda Ronstadt began performing "You're No Good" to close her live shows in early 1973, after her band member Kenny Edwards suggested it. She first included it in her setlist while opening for Neil Young. Ronstadt gave an early televised performance of "You're No Good" on an episode of The Midnight Special , broadcast December 21, 1973.
Ronstadt recorded her album Heart Like a Wheel with producer Peter Asher in mid-1974 at the Sound Factory; "You're No Good" was a last-minute choice for recording, and while the song was Ronstadt's suggestion, Asher recalls: "It was an odd coincidence. She’d been doing the song already, and it was always a favorite song of mine... the version I fell in love with [being by] the Swinging Blue Jeans". [8] The original backing track intended for Ronstadt's version of "You're No Good" was recorded July 1, 1974. According to Bob Warford, a guitarist in Ronstadt's touring band who played on the July 1 track, "They were trying to do an R&B version of the song, which was actually closer to the way we did it live than to the released version. We played it at a faster tempo live, which we did on that recording [ie. of July 1]." [8] Ronstadt vetoed the July 1 arrangement; she recalls: "It was just the wrong groove for me. I don’t think I knew how to phrase around [the players], certainly no fault of theirs. They were fantastic." [8]
The final recording of the Ronstadt version of "You're No Good" was made on July 5, 1974. Ronstadt would recall: "Ed Black, who played six-string guitar and pedal steel, started to play a rhythm riff on his Les Paul. Kenny Edwards... the bass player... echoed the riff in octaves. Andrew Gold added a sparse drum track, giving me a basic track to sing over. We did a few takes, picked one we liked, and then Andrew, who always played guitars and keyboards went to work with Peter (Asher) and began to work up layers of guitar, piano and percussion tracks." Ronstadt recalls that during a playback after several hours of work, Val Garay, the engineer, accidentally erased Andrew Gold's guitar solo from the track, necessitating Asher and Gold's reconstructing that solo from scratch, [9] though Asher and Garay dispute that recollection. [8]
In late August 1974 a string arrangement by Gregory Rose was added to the track at AIR Studios. According to a Classic Tracks article by Matt Hurwitz at MixOnline.com: "It ends with a strong, long held note, which Asher conceived, executed by Garay with a slow riding of the level on the string faders during the final mix." [8]
Capitol Records was unsure whether to release "You're No Good" or "When Will I Be Loved" as the lead single off Heart Like a Wheel, only deciding to release "You're No Good" a week after the album's release.
Linda Ronstadt's version of "You're No Good" became the song's most successful cover. The track ascended to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated February 15, 1975, her only song to reach that position. "You're No Good" was also an international hit for Ronstadt, reaching number 15 in Australia, number 17 in the Netherlands, and number 24 in New Zealand. The B-side of "You're No Good", "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," originally sung by Hank Williams, also charted and was simultaneously a number 2 C&W hit for Ronstadt. "When Will I Be Loved" was then issued as the follow-up single. [10]
Buoyed in part by the success of "You're No Good", the album Heart Like a Wheel , which was released in late 1974, was a major success, eventually going double Platinum and topping the Billboard album chart. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The success of "You're No Good" set a precedent for Ronstadt's single releases which over the next five years would virtually all be remakes of classic rock and roll songs.
In a 1983 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ronstadt expressed reservations about the recordings she had made during her 1970s heyday, specifically citing "You're No Good": "I thought the production on 'You're No Good' was very good but [that] I didn't sing it very well. As a song it was just an afterthought. It's not the kind of song I got a lot of satisfaction out of singing." [11]
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Linda Maria Ronstadt is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music.
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me" is a rock song written and first recorded by American musician Warren Zevon in 1976.
Heart Like a Wheel is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and released her first album there; due to contractual obligations, though, Heart Like a Wheel was released by Capitol.
"Back in the U.S.A." is a song written by Chuck Berry that was released in 1959 and was a top 40 hit. A cover version in 1978 by Linda Ronstadt was also a hit.
Betty Jean Everett was an American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "Shoop Shoop Song ", and her duet "Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler.
"Heat Wave" is a 1963 song written by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team. It was first made popular by the Motown vocal group Martha and the Vandellas, who issued it as a single on July 10, 1963, on the Motown subsidiary Gordy label. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot R&B chart—where it stayed for four weeks—and peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Don't Know Much" is a song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow. Mann was the first to record the song in 1980, gaining a minor chart hit in the US. The song was made famous when it was covered as a duet by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville in 1989. Their version was a worldwide success, topping the Irish Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 in several territories.
"It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the Cashbox magazine R&B charts with it in 1964. Recorded by dozens of artists and groups around the world in the decades since, the song became an international hit once again when covered by Cher in 1990.
Prisoner In Disguise (1975) is Linda Ronstadt's sixth solo LP release and her second for the label Asylum Records. It followed Ronstadt's multi-platinum breakthrough album, Heart Like a Wheel, which became her first number one album on the US Billboard 200 album chart in early 1975.
Don't Cry Now is the fourth solo studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Asylum Records on October 1, 1973 and contained ten tracks. While some tracks were new material, many of the songs were cover tunes. The album explored the genres of Country folk, country rock and pop rock. It was Ronstadt's first album recorded on the Asylum label and first to feature producer Peter Asher. Don't Cry Now was given favorable reviews from several music publications and was a commercial success. Along with reaching chart positions in multiple countries, it also certified gold in the United States for selling over 500,000 copies.
Get Closer is the eleventh studio album by singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1982.
Silk Purse is a studio album by American singer Linda Ronstadt. It was released by Capitol Records on April 13, 1970 and was Ronstadt's second solo studio album in her career. Silk Purse contained a total of ten tracks that experimented with country music. It included covers of songs by Hank Williams and Mel Tillis. Featured on the album were two singles. Among them was the song "Long Long Time", which became Ronstadt's first charting single in the US and Canada. Silk Purse was given positive reviews from several publications including AllMusic and Cashbox. It was Ronstadt's first to make chart positions in Australia, Canada and the US.
The singles discography of American singer Linda Ronstadt contains 80 lead and collaborative singles, four as a featured artist, eight promotional singles and eight other charted songs. Her first credited release was 1967's "Different Drum", which also included the Stone Poneys along with Ronstadt as a featured artist. Ronstadt's first pair of solo singles were released by Capitol Records in 1969. The 1970 release "Long, Long Time" was her first solo charting single. Her 1974 single "You're No Good" topped the US Hot 100, reached number seven in Canada and number 15 in Australia. Its B-side song "I Can't Help It " reached number two on the US Hot Country Songs list. It was followed by 1975's "When Will I Be Loved", which made the top ten on multiple charts in the United States and Canada, including topping their country surveys. It was followed by the US top five song "Heat Wave" and the US country top five song "Love Is a Rose".
Clinton Conger Ballard Jr. was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. He wrote two Billboard Hot 100 number one hits. The first was "Game of Love" by Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders in 1965. The second was the 1975 hit, "You're No Good" by Linda Ronstadt. He wrote two UK number one singles, recorded by Jimmy Jones and The Hollies.
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