Songwriter of “Everlasting Love” was 84

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Buzz Cason, the Nashville singer, songwriter and producer best known for “Everlasting Love,” the upbeat Motown-style pop song that has been covered countless times and featured in many films since Robert Knight recorded the original in 1967, died June 16 at his home in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 84.

His death was announced by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. A cause of death was not given.

“Everlasting Love,” with its incredibly catchy and instantly recognizable chorus that begins, “Open your eyes/Then you’ll see/Here I stand with my everlasting love,” has charted in various versions, most notably Carl Carlton’s 1974 cover, which heralded the impending arrival of disco. In the UK, the song was a number one hit for London pop band Love Affair in 1968.

Other artists who have covered the song, written by Cason with his songwriting partner Mac Gayden, include Gloria Estefan, Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet, U2, German singer Sandra, Australian pop group Town Criers, British boy band Worlds Apart and even the cast of BBC series Casualty, who recorded a top-five version for charity in 1998.

According to the New York Times, citing music rights organization BMI, the many versions of “Everlasting Love” have been played over 10 million times to date, making it one of the most successful songs of any genre to come out of Nashville.

The song has also found its way into various films and television shows, including a memorable episode of the 1994 daytime soap Rich and beautifulin which actors Bobbie Eakes and Jeff Trachta performed a duet as part of a concert act. The U2 version was included in the 2003 film Veronica Guerin starring Kate Blanchett, and a cover by Jamie Cullum was included in the 2004 soundtrack Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Most recently, the song was featured prominently in a key scene in the 2021 Kenneth Branagh film Belfastin which star Jamie Dornan, in the role of Pa, sings the song “Everlasting Love” to his wife at a dance. The song was featured prominently in the film’s trailers.

Cason was one of Nashville’s early exponents of rock and roll, citing Gene Vincent, Bo Diddley and the Clovers as his main inspirations. As a teenager, he sang with a local doo-wop group called The Casuals in Nashville and performed with Chubby Checker, Jerry Lee Lewis and Brenda Lee.

In 1962, his song “Soldier of Love,” co-written with Tony Moon, was recorded by Beatles favorite Arthur Anderson, and the Fab Four recorded a live version for the BBC in 1963. Other artists who have covered the song include Pearl Jam, Little Steven and Marshall Crenshaw.

In the mid-1960s, he joined the Nashville Beach Boys-like group Ronny & the Daytonas, and wrote the band’s 1966 Top 40 hit ballad “Sandy.” Later that decade, he formed a music publishing company with songwriter Bobby Russell, which resulted in hits for Russell’s songs “Honey” (recorded by Bobby Goldsboro) and “Little Green Apples” (OC Smith, Roger Miller, and many others).

Cason published his autobiography Living the rock’n’roll dream in 2004.

He leaves behind his wife Victoria Cason, his daughters Tammy, Kristy and Leah, his sons Taylor and Parker, and other family members.