January 12, 2024      —–     Chart #228

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. How about a deep cut from 1971? This song is sooo catchy. I guess that’s why dozens of other artists have covered it over many years. “Never Ending Song of Love” is a song written by Delaney Bramlett, and, according to some sources, by his wife Bonnie Bramlett. It was originally recorded with their band, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, in 1971 on the album Motel Shot. Released as a single by Atco Records the same year, “Never Ending Song of Love” became Delaney & Bonnie‘s greatest hit on the pop charts, reaching a peak of No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on Easy Listening. It reached No. 16 in Australia.

A cover version by The New Seekers was a major hit in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1971. It spent a few weeks at No. 2 in the UK charts and in South Africa, and reached No. 1 in the Irish charts. It was featured on their album of the same name. As of 2008, “Never Ending Song of Love”, had been covered by over 100 artists.

Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Bobby Whitlock, Dave Mason, Steve Howe, Rita Coolidge, and King Curtis.

Delaney Bramlett (July 1, 1939, Pontotoc County, Mississippi – December 27, 2008, Los Angeles) learned the guitar in his youth. He moved to Los Angeles in 1959, where he became a session musician. His most notable early work was as a member of the Shindogs, the house band for the ABC-TV series Shindig! (1964–66), which also included guitarist and keyboardist Leon Russell. He was the first artist signed to Independence Records. His debut single “Guess I Must be Dreamin” was produced by Russell.

The New Seekers:  https://youtu.be/h9pUsAbObQU?si=GZ0YDdIUs8I-MWpp

Bonnie Bramlett (née Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell, born November 8, 1944, in Granite City, Illinois) was an accomplished singer at an early age, performing when she was 14 years old with blues guitarist Albert King and in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue—the first white Ikette. She moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and met and married Bramlett later that year.

Delaney Bramlett and Leon Russell had many connections in the music business through their work in the Shindogs and formed a band of solid, if transient, musicians around Delaney & Bonnie. The band became known as “Delaney & Bonnie and Friends”, because of its regular changes of personnel. They secured a recording contract with Stax Records and completed work on their first album, Home, in 1968. In his 2007 autobiography, Eric Clapton erroneously claimed Delaney & Bonnie and Friends were the first white group to sign a contract with Stax.

Pull out your guitar or sit down at the keyboard and give this one a try. Make sure you have another voice or two with you so you can belt out those infectious harmonies. Enjoy!

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw