A few golden moments.
- 1967The Association’s hit reaches No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- GoldThe Association’s recording earns a gold record.
- 1999No. 2 on BMI’s Songs of the Century list for U.S. radio & TV.
THE ADDRISI BROTHERS
Never My Love
About the Song
Written by Donald and Richard Addrisi, known as the Addrisi Brothers, and made famous by The Association in 1967, “Never My Love” has been recorded by more than 300 artists around the world.
It was ranked by BMI as the second most-played song of the twentieth century and later celebrated for reaching an extraordinary 10 million performances.
Listen to the recordings
2011 · BMI POP AWARDS
10 million
performances.
Ten million performances of “Never My Love,” honored by BMI.
The story behind the honor
THE RECORDINGS
10 Highlight Recordings
The 5th Dimension
A live interpretation that became another major hit, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Listen on YouTubeBlue Swede
The Swedish group brought the song back to the U.S. Top 10, reaching No. 7.
Listen on Apple MusicNorah Jones & Jakob Dylan
A duet for the documentary soundtrack celebrating the music of Laurel Canyon.
Listen on SpotifyFour Tops
The Motown quartet included the Addrisi Brothers’ song on Yesterday’s Dreams.
Listen on Apple MusicEtta James
An archival interpretation from the early 1970s, later released on the Love Songs collection.
Find the song on Apple MusicBarry Manilow
A recording on Manilow’s album revisiting the pop songs of an earlier era.
Listen on YouTubeRita Wilson
Featured on Wilson’s debut album, a collection of the classic songs she grew up hearing on the radio.
Listen on Apple MusicDonny Hathaway
Recorded in the early 1970s and released from the archives in 2013; the song also gave his retrospective its title.
Listen on YouTubeBryan Adams
Adams revisited the song for his collection of formative musical influences.
Listen on YouTubeA SONG THAT KEEPS FINDING NEW AUDIENCES
Film, Television & Advertising
Television
Outlander
The Association’s recording accompanies Claire’s imagined refuge in the episode that also takes its title from the song: “Never My Love.”
Read about the episodeSons of Anarchy
Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers, featuring Billy Valentine, bring a new interpretation to “Black Widower,” the final season’s opening episode.
Listen to the soundtrack recordingHouse
The Association’s recording appears in “We Need the Eggs,” bringing the song to the long-running medical drama.
Explore the episode’s musicSex Education
The Association’s recording accompanies a scene at Ruby’s home in the Netflix series.
Explore the episode’s soundtrackThe Linda McCartney Story
The Association’s recording features in the television film about Linda and Paul McCartney.
Read about the film and its musicCinema
Whip It
Har Mar Superstar, featuring Adam Green, interprets the song for the soundtrack to Drew Barrymore’s roller-derby film.
Listen to the soundtrack recordingInherent Vice
The Association’s recording appears in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film, alongside its collection of period songs.
Explore the film’s music creditsAdvertising
Allstate
The Association’s “Never My Love” accompanies Allstate’s “Girls Day Out” commercial featuring NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.
Read the advertising music listingIN THEIR OWN WORDS
Behind the music.
THE PHOTO ALBUM
The photographic archive.
Sources & photograph credits
The history on this page draws on music-industry and artist sources. Dates beside recordings refer to their release, not the date of a later video upload.
- BMI: Top 100 Songs of the Century (1999)
- BMI: Richard Addrisi tribute and 2011 award photograph
- Rhino: The Association’s gold record and cover chart history
- Bryan Adams: Tracks of My Years
- Rhino: Donny Hathaway’s archival recording and 2013 anthology
- Rita Wilson: AM/FM, track listing and release credits
- Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.: The 5th Dimension / Live!!
- The Katz Tapes: Richard Addrisi on The Lost Album Sessions (released 2001). Album artwork supplied from the personal music archive; the linked listening selection is the separate 1977 recording.
- Den of Geek: Outlander’s season 5 finale and The Association’s recording
- Sons of Anarchy: “Black Widower” music listing; soundtrack release credits via Apple Music.
- Album and track links provide release credits for Four Tops, Etta James and Echo in the Canyon. The ten featured recordings are a curated selection.
- Additional publicity images: Richard at the piano (BMI publicity print), Richard’s headshot, and a performance photograph from the personal publicity archive. Dates and photographers unidentified.
- Addrisi Brothers photographs: personal music archive supplied for this tribute, including Donald and Richard seated before their gold records and awards. Photographers and dates not identified. The early stage photograph is filed as “Addrisi Bros Pic.jpg” in the personal archive; identified by the archive’s custodian as the brothers opening for Ritchie Valens; its date, venue and photographer are unidentified.
- House: “We Need the Eggs” episode guide and music listing
- Vague Visages: Sex Education season 3, episode 3 music listing
- Rhino: Whip It official soundtrack announcement and track credits
- FilmMusic.com: Inherent Vice film music credits (distinct from the soundtrack album)
- h2g2: The Linda McCartney Story film review and music discussion
- LiveAbout: Allstate advertising music listing
- Sports Business Journal: Allstate’s “Girls Day Out” campaign, scheduled to debut August 7, 2005
- Adtunes: contemporary August 2005 identification of The Association’s recording in the Allstate commercial