"Personally" was first recorded in 1973 by its composer Paul Kelly, with Gene Page producing: however the track was not released although Kelly would record a new version of his composition for his 1993 album Gonna Stick and Stay.
Bonoff learned of the song through Glenn Frey, who was the intended producer of her album Wild Heart of the Young before the job went to Kenny Edwards. Bonoff said Frey was "a great collector of obscure R&B tunes. He used to play me all these really cool [songs]." Frey mentioned to Bonoff that he had meant to send the Jackie Moore recording of "Personally" to Bonnie Raitt as a possible song to record herself, but Raitt hadn't received it. Bonoff recalled, "He was playing it for me and I said: 'Maybe I could [record it].'"[1]
Highlighted by a solo by alto sax virtuoso Phil Kenzie,[2] Bonoff's version of "Personally" spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 with a number 19 peak: in Cash Box the track rose as high as #12 on the Top 100 Singles chart.[3]Billboard ranked "Personally" as the 60th biggest hit of 1982.[4]
