The Williams Brothers charted with “Can’t Cry Hard Enough”

Can’t Cry Hard Enough The Williams Brothers

Writer(s): David Williams, Marvin Etzioni (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 3, 1991 Peak: 42 US, 29 CB, 24 RR, 11 AC, 43 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.68 video, 5.29 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In the early ‘90s, I had a go-to, independently-run CD store which I hit on a weekly basis. They not only knew me by name, but had my tastes down. I’d walk in the store and they’d load up a recommended CD. They made a lot of money off me. Of the many purchases I made, however, the one that stood out was the The Williams Brothers. I knew nothing of these twin brothers who were nephews of singer Andy Williams. I found out they recorded a pair of albums as teen idols in the early ‘70s as Andy and David Williams and appeared on The Partridge Family. They re-emerged in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s recording more adult-alternative, folk-oriented fare. This was one of those rare albums where every cut grew on me. Even so, one song towered above the rest – “Can’t Cry Hard Enough.” While the song is about “missing someone who has passed away and the helplessness that comes from never being able to see that person again,” SF I connected with it differently. I’ll always think of it in the context of driving home one night from my former college town. I’d visited the great unrequited love of my life and left with the dejected realization that it was never going to happen. David Williams wrote the song with Marvin Etzioni of Lone Justice. He told Songfacts.com that “writing the song was like a magical moment.” SF He’d been writing with David and Andrew. David had an idea and played some piano chords and Marvin added lyrics inspired by the recent loss of his grandmother. As Marvin said, “it just kind of fell into the room.” SF David and Andrew recorded the song for their self-titled 1991 release and Marvin recorded it in 1992 for his album The Mandolin Man. However, the first recording was by David and Andrew’s sister Victoria for her 1990 album Swing the Statue! It was also recorded later by Susan Ashton, Beelfire, Tom Freund, Rachelle Ann Go, Jed Madela, Sam Milby, Julie Miller, the Robertson Brothers, and Smokie. It has been featured in the TV shows One Tree Hill and Beverly Hills, 90210. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for the Williams Brothers SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/13/2021; last updated 10/31/2022.