Song of the Day: The Surprising Origin of 'Let It Be Me'

The surprising origins of "Let It Be Me" plus versions from the Everlys, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and Willie Nelson.

You have no doubt heard at least one version of “Let It Be Me” since the Everly Brothers made it a hit back in 1959. It’s now firmly in the American songbook. You might guess that it was written by Don and Phil or maybe their favorite hit songwriters Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. You would be wrong. Instead it was penned by a Frenchman, Gilbert Becaud, as “Je t’appartiens,” with somewhat different lyrics. (The French title translates basically as “I’m yours”). After the Everlys, it would be covered in hit singles or album cuts by Jerry Butler and Betty Everett, Sonny & Cher, Glen Campbell and Bobbie Gentry, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Nancy Sinatra, and Nina Simone, right down to the present.

So, below, we start with the often-at-odds Everly boys live, on their first reunion tour. It’s one of the great musical videos of our time, with harmonies that can only be achieved by siblings—but here with moving visual cues and clues as well. Following that, Becaud himself in his later years, also in concert, and then a selection of the covers, from Dylan with his Nashville Skyline croon to a Rita Wilson/Jackson Browne duet…..Enjoy, then subscribe, it’s still free—or share and recommend to friends and fellow Substackers, would appreciate that….

Becaud in later years.

George Harrison demo

Dylan’s unfortunate crooning attempt

Nina Simone

Nancy Sinatra

Rita Wilson and Jackson Browne live

Willie Nelson classic

Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry

“Essential daily newsletter.” — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire

“Incisive and enjoyable every day.” — Ron Brownstein, The Atlantic

“Always worth reading.” — Frank Rich, New York magazine, Veep and Succession

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including the bestseller The Tunnels (on escapes under the Berlin Wall), the current The Beginning or the End (on MGM’s atomic bomb movie twisted by the White House and Pentagon), and The Campaign of the Century (on Upton Sinclair’s left-wing race for governor of California), which was recently picked by the Wall St. Journal as one of five greatest books ever about an election. His 2021 film, Atomic Cover-up, drew extraordinary acclaim, and his current one, The First Attack Ads, aired over hundreds of PBS stations this past fall. For nearly all of the 1970s he was the #2 editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. Later he served as longtime editor of Editor & Publisher magazine. He recently co-produced a film about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.