About The Song
“To Know Him Is to Love Him” became a special recording in the catalog of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris because it brought three major voices in American country and folk music into one shared performance. Their version was released on the landmark collaborative album Trio in 1987, and it helped introduce a new generation of listeners to a song that had already lived a long life in popular music. The track was issued as a single and became one of the project’s most visible successes.
The song itself goes back much further. It was written by Phil Spector and first recorded in 1958 by The Teddy Bears, the group Spector formed in his early years. That original version was a pop hit and quickly became the song most people associated with the title. By the time Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou recorded it, the song had already proven that its melody and emotional center could survive outside its original moment. Their interpretation gave it a softer, more intimate country setting.
What makes the trio version memorable is not just the song choice, but the way the three singers handle it. Each of them had a strong individual identity, yet none of them overpowered the arrangement. Instead, the performance depends on blend, patience, and restraint. That approach fits the lyric perfectly, because the song is built around a simple expression of devotion. The line itself is plain, but the feeling behind it is lasting.
Trio was more than just an album title. It represented a rare meeting of three artists who were already established on their own but shared a deep respect for harmony singing and traditional American song forms. The project took time to come together, and its polished sound reflected that care. “To Know Him Is to Love Him” worked especially well in that setting because it allowed the three voices to sound unified without losing their individual character.
The song’s success on Billboard’s country chart showed that audiences responded to the chemistry of the collaboration as much as to the familiar melody. In an era when country music was changing quickly, the trio’s version felt rooted and timeless. It did not rely on novelty. It relied on three singers who understood how to make a classic song feel present again.
There is also a quiet significance in the fact that such a well-known pop song found new life in the hands of three country artists. That kind of crossing over has always been part of American music, but the trio made it feel effortless. Their version does not try to reinvent the song completely. It simply reveals how strong songwriting and careful harmony can make an old record feel newly human.
Video
Lyric
To know know know him
Is to love love love him
Just to see him smile
Makes my life worthwhile
To know know know him
Is to love love love him
And I doI’ll be good to him
I’ll bring love to him
Everyone says there’ll come a day
When I’ll walk alongside of him
Yes just to know him
Is to love love love him
And I doWhy can’t he see
How blind can he be
Someday he will see
That he was meant for meTo know know know him
Is to love love love him
Just to see him smile
Makes my life worthwhile
To know know know him
Is to love love love him
And I do