"Everybody Loves a Lover" is a popular song which was a hit single for Doris Day in 1958. Its lyricist, Richard Adler, and its composer, Robert Allen, were both best known for collaborations with other partners. The music Allen composed, aside from this song, was usually for collaborations with Al Stillman, and Adler wrote the lyrics after the 1955 death of his usual composing partner, Jerry Ross. Background and Doris Day recording The song's genesis was a comment made to Adler by his lawyer: "You know what Shakespeare said: 'All the world loves a lover.'" (In fact, this was a misattribution of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.) Adler and Allen quickly wrote "Everybody Loves a Lover" in New York City. Doris Day and Adler knew each other through Day's having starred in the film version of The Pajama Game whose songs Adler and Ross had written (originally for the stage musical version of The Pajama Game), and Day had mentioned to Adler that she was looking for a new novelty song to record and Allen on a visit to Los Angeles presented "Everybody Loves a Lover" for consideration by Day, her husband-manager Marty Melcher, and Mitch Miller, who headed Columbia Records, for which company Day recorded. Although Day, Melcher and Miller all saw the song's potential as a hit for Day, Melcher made Day's recording of "Everybody Loves a Lover" conditional on the song's copyright being granted to Artists Music, the publishing firm he owned with Day – a condition to which Allen was not agreeable. However, after a few days, Melcher phoned Allen to say that Day would record the song without her and Melcher acquiring its publishing rights. Day recorded "Everybody Loves a Lover" in May 1958 with Frank DeVol producing and Earl Palmer on drums. Issued as Columbia catalog number 41195, "Everybody Loves a Lover" first reached the Billboard magazine charts on July 21, 1958. On the Disk Jockey chart, it peaked at number 6; on the Best Seller chart, at number 17; and on the Hot 100 composite chart, it reached number 14. The Doris Day version is noteworthy for the third verse, in which, through overdubbing, the first four lines of verse 2 are superimposed on the first four lines of verse 1, creating a counterpoint duet. The two segments end on the same word, "Pollyanna", sung in harmony. The song was Day's last