The song was originally written by Michael Allison and Peter Sills for British singer Cliff Richard, whom Olivia Newton-John was a backing singer for in the early 1970s. Richard originally attempted a recording of the song in December 1975 studio sessions for his 1976 studio album I'm Nearly Famous, but it remained unreleased. He recorded the song again for his 1977 studio album Every Face Tells a Story, for which it became the title track.[1]

Richard's version uses the same music, but the lyrics are about Jesus and are Gospel-themed. Although a pop star, Richard is a Christian and sometimes includes Gospel tracks on his albums. Don Black rewrote the lyrics but kept the title, removing the Gospel theme.

Olivia Newton-John version

"Every Face Tells a Story"
Single by Olivia Newton-John
from the album Don't Stop Believin'
B-side"Love You Hold the Key"
ReleasedNovember 1976
GenreCountry, pop
Length3:38
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Peter Sills
Don Black
Michael Allison
Producer(s)John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"Don't Stop Believin'"
(1976)		 "Every Face Tells a Story"
(1976)		 "Sam"
(1977)

In 1976, Australian pop and country singer Olivia Newton-John recorded a version for her eighth studio album, Don't Stop Believin'. It was released as a single in November 1976 and peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; #21 on the Hot Country Songs chart; and #6 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. She produced an MTV style promotional clip for the song, which aired on ABC in November 1976. The song was not released in Australia.

Charts

Chart (1976–77) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles [2] 21
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[3] 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 55
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 5
Canadian RPM Top Singles 58
South Africa (Springbok)[4] 5
U.S. Cash Box Top Singles [5] 71

Other versions

References

  1. ↑ Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1991). Cliff Richard The Complete Recording Sessions 1958-1990. London: Blandford. pp. 108, 110, 111. ISBN 0-7137-2242-8.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 249.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 181.
  4. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Cash Box" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. 11 December 1976. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  6. ↑ Information at Svensk mediedatabas


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