Ten Favorite Rock General Questions: When Will I Be Loved (#6)

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There are so many songs that have a question for a title that it was difficult -- yet a lot of fun -- to whittle the list of favorites down. I managed to get it down to 40 -- 20 in rock and 20 in country, splitting it into various questions and ones that specifically had who/what/why in the title. I'm glad I didn't include "when" so I didn't have to worry about where to put today's song! #6: When Will I Be Loved - Everly Brothers I could just say "oh, those sweet, sweet harmonies" and "oh, that great Linda Ronstadt cover" and be done with it. In fact....I won't. Although many of the Everly Brothers' biggest hits were written by the Hall of Fame duo Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, Phil Everly wrote this one himself. It told the story of a fellow very unlucky in love: "when I meet a new girl that I want for mine, she always breaks my heart in two, it happens every time." The song was a top ten hit for the brothers in 1960, about a year before they both joined the Marine Corps Reserve. In 1974 Linda Ronstadt covered the song on her classic album Heart Like a Wheel. Her version hit #1 on the Billboard country charts and #2 on the pop charts, establishing her has a bona fide superstar in both genres. There are dozens of covers out there of this fabulous classic, including a really good version by Rockpile (featuring Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe doing their best Phil and Don impersonation). But it all goes back to those boys from western Kentucky and the magic they made with their voices. When Will I Be Loved Written by Phil Everly Recorded by the Everly Brothers Released as a single, 1960 (Also famously covered by Linda Ronstadt from Heart Like a Wheel, 1974) I've been lied to: