6 Things You Might Not Know About Leon Russell’s “A Song For You”

A Song For You

Leon Russell’s 1970 instant classic “A Song For You,” a mainstay on all reality singing competition shows, and a song that has been recorded by scores of prominent recording artists (and hundreds of not-so-prominent), was recently voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Russell originally released the song on his 1970 debut solo album on Shelter Records, an independent label he co-founded with then-partner, record producer Denny Cordell. Here are a few things you might not know about one of Russell’s best-known compositions, and a song he performed at each show, usually as a solo spotlight song, till his passing in 2016.

1. “A Song For You” was recorded by Russell in January, 1970 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles.

To round out his debut solo album, Russell recorded additional tracks in Los Angeles to compliment the all-star sessions he had recorded in London at Olympic Studios. “A Song For You” was one of those additional tracks (along with “Hummingbird,”“Old Masters,”“Dixie Lullaby,” and “Give Peace A Chance.”) Russell booked time at Sunset Sound Recorders, a recording studio on Sunset Boulevard that was created by Walt Disney’s Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collection of old commercial and residential buildings. Russell sang, played his trademark piano, and played tenor horn on the track, a throwback to his high school marching band days at Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School. Little did Russell know that this simple arrangement of his composition would have such timeless appeal and touch so many with it’s heartbreaking lyrics.

2. Russell never released “A Song For You” as a single.

Despite its future success as a “standard” within the recording industry, Russell never released “A Song For You” as a single, opting to release other songs from the debut album which he and Cordell thought were more commercially appealing.

3. Donny Hathaway is frequently mistakenly credited for writing “A Song For You.”

Hathaway recorded a what many call a transcendent performance of the Russell composition, maximizing the song’s emotional potential to the point that the original was almost considered a cover of his version. Performers on the singing shows sometimes mistakenly cite Hathaway as the songwriter when introducing the song, enraging Russell fans everywhere, and causing a temporary but intense blast of angry emails, phone calls, and social media posts to the offending network.

4. Russell set out to write “A Song For You” as a standard even though it only took him about ten minutes.

Russell has mentioned over the years that it only took about 10 minutes to compose “A Song For You,”and when he wrote it he had crooners like Frank Sinatra in mind, as well as Ray Charles. The song was eventually covered by everyone from Peggy Lee to Amy Winehouse, and has kept Russell in mailbox money for many decades. Ray Charles won a Grammy Award in 1993 for Best male R&B Vocal Performance for his version, which used the original Russell piano intro almost note-for-note.

5. Tulsa Sound pioneer and Russell friend Jimmy Karstein may have been the first person to hear Russell perform “A Song For You.”

Russell recorded the bulk of the tracks for his debut solo album released on Shelter Records at Olympic Studios in London over five full days of recording/overdubbing, spread over two weeks, before returning home to Los Angeles. Back home he recorded additional tracks for the album, including “A Song For You.” Tulsa Sound pioneer/musician and longtime Russell friend Jimmy Karstein recalled hearing the Russell composition for the first time, “I came by Leon’s house around 11 PM one night (also known as Skyhill Studios/Leon Russell Recorders). The house was unusually quiet compared to most nights, when there were usually some people around recording or hanging out. But this night no one else was around . I walked in the front door and into the studio, which is an immediate left through the front door, and Leon was setting there at his grand piano, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He said, “Hey, I’m working on a new song. See what you think.” And it was “A Song For You.” Like Leon’s other compositions he played for me I thought it was great, and of course original. It didn’t even dawn on me for thirty-years that I might have been the first person to hear that song, because there wasn’t anyone else around at the time when he was working on it. Now I can’t swear to that I was the first person to hear it, but I was at least one of the first people to hear it.”

6.  Leon was so taken by a Whitney Houston live version of “A Song For You” that he sat down and wrote her a letter.

True story that Leon told me years ago. As a prelude to American sporting events, few have topped one delivered by singer Whitney Houston when she sang the Star-Spangled Banner before Super Bowl XXV in January, 1991 in Tampa, Florida. Her rendition came at a particular patriotic time, just 10 days after the US entered the Gulf War overseas. Released as a single, it was re-released after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Her incredible voice mixed with a bare minimum of extraneous notes was a performance to remember. Following her performance during the Super Bowl, Houston decided to carry it over into a concert to honor the troops and their families, and the government and military dignitaries in honor of those returning from the Gulf War. The concert, held live at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia on March 31, 1991, was broadcast live on HBO. Russell watched the broadcast, along with millions of others, and witnessed her live performance of “A Song For You.” He was so moved that he sat down and wrote her a letter of appreciation on how much he enjoyed her rendition, which he said he never did. He said never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine one of his songs being performed that both brought tears to his eyes and sent chills up his spine. Such is the power of music.

Author:  Steve Todoroff

Left photo:
Russell, Carl Radle, and Karstein, backing up Bobby Rydell at Pandora’s Box in Hollywood, circa 1962.                                Photo courtesy of Jimmy Karstein.
Right photo:
Russell and Jimmy Karstein at The Brady Theater, Tulsa, Oklahoma, April 2013, which was the final Birthday Bash held at The Brady Theater
Photo courtesy of Steve Todoroff.

 

 

 

Teresa Knox

Teresa Knox

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10 Comments

  1. David Teegarden, Sr. on March 14, 2018 at 5:20 pm

    Much love to the spirit and inspiration of Leon ! ! !

    • Teresa Knox on March 14, 2018 at 5:36 pm

      Thank you David!

  2. Pam Blosser on March 22, 2018 at 11:16 pm

    This is great! Now you can add that as of this year (2018) it is in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Do you know how many other artists have sung this? Wikipedia lists 25 artists. Again, thanks

    • Teresa Knox on March 23, 2018 at 6:18 am

      Yes, including the latest accolade…the Grammy HOF is a good one to add! We have counted hundreds of versions of artists who have sung this song! We need to update Wikipedia. We’ll get a more formal list together in near future! Thank you for your comments!

  3. Leonard Vincent on April 3, 2018 at 9:52 am

    I lived near 11th & Lewis in ‘72 and remember everybody talking about Leon opening the studio in a downtown church. He performed locally every so often in those days even though he had achieved considerable commercial success. I spoke to him on two occasions, once at a chance meeting at the Dairy Queen on 11th when he unexpectedly paid for my cone, and he gave off a friendly, humble, down-to-earth vibe, and didn’t seem to to be all that affected by stardom. So glad to see the memorialization of the Church Studio happening.

    • Teresa Knox on April 3, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Thank you for your comment. Very neat about Leon paying for your ice cream cone! Hope to get you to come by when restoration is complete!

    • Claude Hitt on February 21, 2021 at 9:51 pm

      Awesome ! Paid for your ice cream . What Flavor ?

  4. Jeffery Joseph Haas on May 22, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    “Performers on the singing shows sometimes mistakenly cite Hathaway as the songwriter when introducing the song, enraging Russell fans everywhere, and causing a temporary but intense blast of angry emails, phone calls, and social media posts to the offending network.”

    —Only because the hosts of the shows seldom if ever make any attempt to set the record straight even though they know it’s Leon’s song.
    These shows present the idea that they care about songwriters and musicians, don’t they?
    Take “The Voice”, for instance…
    Blake Shelton grew up in Oklahoma, so he KNOWS that ASFY is by Leon, he knows better.
    And yet he’s never once mentioned Leon and ASFY is a perennial favorite on that show just as it is on all the others.
    So it boils down to Leon not getting any respect.
    You’d never ever hear these “movers and shakers” allow a misattribution on songs by Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift, or Michael Jackson, so why does Leon get dissed so regularly?
    If these shows really are about respect for artists, they’ve sure fooled me, because I think these shows are about these “impresarios” instead.
    They’re geared to make PRODUCERS look good, not the artists.

    They are thinly veiled attempts to claw back the power FROM the artists, who by and large get treated pretty shabbily unless they are in the Top Ten at the time.

  5. Donna Conley on January 31, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    I for one know Leon Russell should be given ALL the credit for such a beautiful song as “A Song For You “. I love this song SO much! It’s meaning never meant much to me, until my love of four years broke up with me, via text. I was broken hearted and confused, till this day. So I listen to the song often. It has helped my heart to heal. Thank God Leon wrote this song. RIP Leon, I love you! My only regret is, I never actually met you in person.

  6. Keith Cliburn on December 10, 2023 at 3:21 pm

    Thank all of you for the info and memories posted about Leon and his music especially
    this one, A Song For You. I was sad to hear of his
    passing but glad to hear how much people
    loved this song of his. I can’t listen to it myself
    without getting misty eyed. May God rest your
    soul Leon and thank you for all your contributions
    to music and our lives through your music.

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