"I'm Leaving It Up to You" is a song written by and originally performed by Don Harris and Dewey Terry in 1957.[2] It was later popularized in 1963 by the American duo Dale and Grace, who took it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1974, Donny and Marie Osmond reached the top five on the US Hot 100 chart and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart with their cover.
"I'm Leaving It Up to You" first became popular when recorded by the duo Dale and Grace in 1963. Their version became a #1 hit in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in late 1963, replacing "Deep Purple" by Nino Tempo & April Stevens but ending up one position lower than that record on the 1963 end-of-the-year chart.[3]
The single also spent two weeks atop the easy listening chart. It was the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Dale and Grace were in Dallas on the day of the murder. The duo was scheduled to perform that night as part of Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars (with Bobby Rydell, Jimmy Clanton, and Brian Hyland) and had waved to the president's motorcade from a vantage point near their hotel, moments before the assassination.[3] Needless to say, Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars was cancelled that night, as was the next night in Oklahoma.[4]
In 1974, "I'm Leaving It Up to You" (released and noted as "I'm Leaving It (All) Up to You") again became a chart-topping hit in the US when brother and sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond covered it in September, it reached #4 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the easy listening chart.[10] It also reached #2 in the UK. Their version became a gold record, as did the album from which the title track was taken.[11]
A Spanish version, written by Leslie Royal and Héctor Romero of Mexican group Los Jets de Nogales, was recorded by them in 1963 as "Decídelo tú", and by Mexican group Yndio in 1972, under the name "Sin tu amor", with the song's new name used as title for Yndio's album.[24][25]
^Breihan, Tom (June 6, 2018). "The Number Ones: Dale & Grace's "I'm Leaving It Up To You"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 10, 2023. Don & Dewey's version of "I'm Leaving It Up To You"...was a great song — a doo-wop plea to an indecisive lover...Dale & Grace's take on the song was deeply faithful to the original...
^Don & Dewey: Jungle Hop, Legends of Speciality Records, Speciality Records (1991), liner notes
