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"Made to Love" is a song written by Phil Everly and originally recorded by the Everly Brothers in 1960 on their fourth studio album A Date with the Everly Brothers. Unlike the majority of the Everly Brothers' recordings, "Made to Love" features Phil on lead vocals with Don singing the harmony.

Eddie Hodges version

"(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love"
Single by Eddie Hodges
B-side	"I Make Believe It's You"
Released	May 1962 (1962-05)
Recorded	November 26, 1961
Studio	Bradley Studios (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Pop
Length	2:25
Label	Cadence
Songwriter(s)	Phil Everly
Producer(s)	Archie Bleyer
Eddie Hodges singles chronology
"Bandit of My Dreams" (1961) "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love" (1962) "Seein' Is Believin'" (1962)

In 1961, teen singer Eddie Hodges recorded a cover of "Made to Love", which was released as single with the altered title "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love" in May 1962.

Recording and release

After producer Archie Bleyer played Hodges Phil Everly's demo of "Made to Love", Hodges was eager to record it as the Everly Brothers were then his favourite artists. He recorded it in New York City; however, Bleyer did not like how it sounded, so they went to Nashville to record at Bradley Studio B (also known as the Quonset hut studio). This recording took place on November 26, 1961, and featured backing by Charlie McCoy and the Escorts. Hodges and Bleyer both agreed that this recording sounded better.

The release of "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love" in May 1962 followed the success of "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door", which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, and "Bandit of My Dreams" which was a minor hit in early 1962. "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Hodges' final top-twenty hit in the US and also his final release on Bleyer's record label Cadence.

Cash Box described "(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love" as a "a happy-go-lucky romantic twist'er that sports a dandy instrumental showcase" and Billboard described it as "a bouncy reading of a cute lyric against simple but effective backing".

Charts

Claude François version

Belles ! Belles ! Belles !
EP by Claude François
Released	27 September 1962 (1962-09-27)
Recorded	September 1962
Studio	Studio Blanqui, Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui, Paris
Genre	French pop
Length	8:40
Label	Fontana
Producer	Jean-Jacques Tilché
Claude François chronology
Le Nabout twist (1962) Belles ! Belles ! Belles ! (1962) Dis-lui (1963)

French singer Claude François recorded a cover of "Made to Love" as "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !" which was released as an EP in September 1962. It was his first success, going on to sell over 750,000 copies within four months of its release.

Background

After signing to Fontana Records, François released his first EP, Le Nabout twist in March 1962. However, it was a commercial failure. Singer Régine made François listen to "Made to Love" and he was captivated by it. He then took the song to Fontana artistic director Jean-Jacques Tilché with a view to recording it, but the song was already reserved for labelmate Lucky Blondo with a version adapted by lyricist Vline Buggy. François pleaded with Tilché and convinced him to allow him to record the song. François was also not so impressed by Buggy's adaptation, so the two met and made several alterations for what would become "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !".

The song was then quickly recorded at the Studio Blanqui on the Boulevard Auguste-Blanqui in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Soon afterwards, Tilché and François gave a copy of the recording to Daniel Filipacchi, presenter of the music radio programme Salut les copains. With the influence of programmer Michel Poulain, Filipacchi agreed to play the song. After several months, "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !" had become a favourite. The plugging and hyping on Salut les copains directly impacted record sales, with the EP beginning to largely sell in January 1963.

Release

Typical of releases at the time in France, "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !" was commercially released as an EP which was the preferred medium of release until later in the 1960s. Jukebox singles featuring the tracks from the EP were also released. The song was the title and lead track on the EP, with "Moi je pense encore à toi" (a cover of Neil Sedaka's "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do") as the other A-side. The B-sides were "Venus en blue-jeans" (a cover of Jimmy Clanton's "Venus in Blue Jeans") and "Hey Potatoes" (a cover of Billy Nash's instrumental of the same name, strongly influenced by Bobby Day's "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes").

Video

During the winter of 1962, a scopitone by Claude Lelouch was filmed for "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !" at the Saint-Cloud forest. Lelouch later recounted that "my idea was a country scene with pretty girls dancing around in cocktail dresses. But when we arrived , everything was white. It had snowed all night. Constraint created the solution. I damned the snow, put anti-skid under Claude François' shoes and I made him dance the mashed potato in the snow in a red jumper".

Track listing

Charts

Other versions

• At the request of television host Jean-Pierre Foucault, French pop duo Début de Soirée recorded a cover of "Belles ! Belles ! Belles !" for a special anniversary broadcast of Claude François on Sacrée Soirée. Released as a single in June 1990, their version peaked at number 49 on the French Singles Chart.

References

1. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2014-03-13). Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-4422-3068-2.
2. (Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love (7-inch single). Eddie Hodges. Cadence. 1962. 1421.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. ^ "Eddie Hodges Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
4. "Record Reviews". Cash Box. June 9, 1962. p. 10.
5. "Singles Reviews". Billboard. June 9, 1962. p. 21.
6. Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
7. "CHUM Hit Parade, Week of July 23, 1962". CHUM Tribute. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
8. "Eddie Hodges: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
9. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending August 4, 1962". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
10. ^ Abrial, Laurent; Lecoeuvre, Fabien (2017-04-15). Petites histoires des grandes chansons: Volume 2 (in French). Editions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-09139-6.
11. ^ Rimbault, Alain (2024-05-01). Souvenirs & confidences - Volume II (in French). Le Lys Bleu Éditions. ISBN 979-10-422-2456-1.
12. Guibert, Gérôme; Rudent, Catherine (2017-11-06). Made in France: Studies in Popular Music. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-64570-2.
13. ^ "Claude François – Belles! Belles! Belles! (1962, Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
14. Kaiser, Marc (2020). "The Record Industry in the 1960-1970s: The Forgotten Story of French Popular Music". HAL. p. 4. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
15. Delavault, Olivier (2018-01-09). Claude François - L'intégrale de ses adaptations (in French). Tredaniel. ISBN 978-2-8132-1710-3.
16. "Claude Lelouch: "Je dois tout aux scopitones"". TV Magazine (in French). 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2024-08-11. Mon idée était une scène champêtre avec des jolies filles dansant autour de lui en robe cocktail. Mais en arrivant, tout était blanc. Il avait neigé toute la nuit. La contrainte a créé la solution. J'ai damné la neige, mis de l'antidérapant sous les chaussures de Claude François et je l'ai fait danser le mashed potatoes dans la neige en pull rouge.
17. "Claude François – Belles! Belles! Belles!" (in French). Ultratop 50.
18. "TOP Hebdo – 23 février 1963". top-france.fr. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
19. "Début de Soirée - Discographie". www.debut-de-soiree.com. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
20. "Début de Soirée - Belles, belles, belles". lescharts.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.

• 1960 songs
• 1962 songs
• Songs written by Phil Everly
• The Everly Brothers songs
• Cadence Records singles