About 32 years ago, Willie Nelson had a No. 1 hit among many others on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Released in early 1984, “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” entered the chart on March 10 before hitting No. 1 on May 12. The song remained at that spot for two weeks and remained in some fashion on the chart for 20 whole weeks. And it was a crossover hit, too. The track was a smash on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 5. Internationally, the country song hit the Top 40 in countless countries.
Notably, “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” hit No. 2 in Spain. That might have something to do with the fact that this song is a duet with Julio Iglesias, a legend in Latin pop music. The collaboration was certainly unexpected, but the two music icons made some serious magic together.
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The Story Behind Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias’ “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before”
“To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” was written by Albert Hammond and Hal David. The song was actually originally recorded by Hammond in 1975 and later by Bobby Vinton. But it was Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias who recorded a smash hit version of the song almost a decade later. The track appears on Iglesias’ record 1100 Bel Air Place. Naturally, collaborating with one of country music’s biggest stars helped Iglesias break through into the English-language market.
Nelson and Iglesias worked so well together, and listeners could tell. The pair even won Duo of the Year at the CMAs after the song dropped. “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” was also the Single of the Year via the ACMs.
Nelson once spoke about the first time he heard Iglesias’ voice. Nelson asked his then-wife, Connie, who was singing on the radio; she told him “that’s Julio Iglesias—who’s become one of the most popular stars in the whole world.” Nelson’s response was cheeky, yet a hint into the future. “How could that be?” he questioned. “I’ve never done a duet with him.”
“I liked his music immediately,” Nelson said in 1991 of Iglesias. “Connie [his then-wife] suggested I record with him, and I thought it was a good idea. Julio said he’d like to do a song with me. I didn’t know Julio was selling more records at that time than anybody in the world.”
Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias would collaborate again a few years later in 1988 with the song “Spanish Eyes”. That tune would be a No. 8 hit on the country charts.
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