Released 1950 (1950) Genre Western swing | Format 10-inch 78 rpm record Label MGM | |
Writer(s) Bob Wills, John Wills, Billy Jack Wills | ||
"Faded Love" is a Western swing song written by Bob Wills, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of American fiddle.The melody came from an 1856 ballad, Darling Nelly Gray, which John Wills knew as a fiddle tune. "Faded Love" is a sentimental song about lost love. The name comes from the refrain that follows each verse:
I remember our faded love.The song was a major hit for Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys (MGM K10786) reaching number eight on the Country charts in 1950. It became one of his signature songs.
Leon McAuliffe had two Top 40 hits with "Faded Love", both reaching number 22 (Cimarron 4057, 1962, and MGM 14249, 1971). The former was an instrumental version, and the latter rendition was a collaboration with Tompall & the Glaser Brothers. Also in 1962, it was a modest hit for Jackie DeShannon, reaching No.97 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song had even greater success when Patsy Cline covered it in 1963. Her version became a hit, reaching number seven on the U.S. Country charts and No.96 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Due to the airplane crash that ended Cline's life, her version was never released on a studio album. Instead, it was belatedly released on Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits, a compilation album in 1967. Cline's version was originally intended to be the title cut for a planned album and was made at what turned out to be the last recording session before her death.