A Song for You

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For the albums, see A Song for You (album).

"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 was 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.

[edit] Other versions

The Carpenters: not released as a single, it served as the title song for the duo's 1972 album.
The Temptations: 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.
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 will also appear in Yamin's upcoming 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.
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".
In 2006 the danish singer Jakob Sveistrup also included a cover version of "A song for you" at his album "Fragments".
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.