| "Reason to Believe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
German cover of the "Reason to Believe" single with reversed sides |
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| Single by Rod Stewart | ||||
| from the album Every Picture Tells a Story | ||||
| B-side | "Maggie May" | |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Rock/Pop | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Tim Hardin | |||
| Rod Stewart singles chronology | ||||
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"Reason to Believe" is a song written and first recorded by American folk singer Tim Hardin in 1965, which has since been recorded by a number of other artists, the most known of which is by Rod Stewart in 1971 and 1993. "Reason to Believe" bears no relationship to Hugh Ross' "Reasons to Believe".
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After having had his recording contract terminated by Columbia Records, Tim Hardin achieved some success in the 1960s as a songwriter based in Greenwich Village. The original recording of "Reason to Believe" comes from Hardin's debut album, Tim Hardin 1, recorded in 1965 and released on the Verve Records label in 1966 when he was 25.[1]
Tim Hardin's original recording of the song is also on the soundtrack to the 2000 film Wonder Boys.
Rod Stewart's version is the best-known one, released in 1971 on the Every Picture Tells a Story album, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a double A-side with Stewart's signature song "Maggie May" but only #62 on its own.
A live version was released in 1993, when it received considerable airplay as part of his MTV Unplugged appearance and subsequent Unplugged...and Seated album. It re-charted, reaching number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Altogether "Reason to Believe" has logged a total of 41 weeks on the Hot 100, more than any other Rod Stewart single.
| End of year chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] | 90 |
The Carpenters recorded "Reason to Believe" for their second LP, Close to You, in 1970. On television, they performed it on the The 5th Dimension Traveling Sunshine Show on August 18, 1971[3] and Make Your Own Kind of Music on September 7, 1971.[4] Richard Carpenter remixed the song for the release of the 1995 compilation, Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration.
| Preceded by "Go Away Little Girl" by Donny Osmond |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single October 2, 1971 (five weeks) |
Succeeded by "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher |