A Song for You

Leon Russell wrote "A Song for You" and recorded it for Shelter in January 1970 at A&M Studios in a single take; it was never a single. He said he had never played it that way before, all off the top of his head. Hathaway's studio version is on his second album, 5:25, with strings and woodwinds arranged by Arif Mardin; American Songwriter says it closely followed Russell's arrangement and is Russell's favorite recording of the song. His live rendition is often mistakenly credited as his composition. The 1972 Live tracklist on Wikipedia does not include it, the 2004 compilation These Songs for You, Live! takes its title from the song, and PopMatters says Hathaway's version wrests it from its composer. Who the song is for is unconfirmed: Rita Coolidge says it was for her, and Russell often disputed it.

Andy Williams reached number 82 with it in 1971, and Dusty Springfield recorded it in 1971, unreleased until 1999. The Carpenters made it the title track of a 1972 album, and Peggy Lee, Cher, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, Whitney Houston and Herbie Hancock with Christina Aguilera have recorded it. Ray Charles's 1993 version won the Grammy for best male R&B vocal performance in 1994, and Amy Winehouse's home recording, based on Hathaway's, came out in 2011. It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame on January 17, 2018.