Songfacts®:

• Written by Don and Phil Everly and originally released in 1957 as the B-side to The Everly Brothers' mega-hit "Bye Bye Love," "I Wonder If I Care As Much" clocks in at a brief 2:14. The track also appeared on their debut album, The Everly Brothers, released by Cadence Records in 1958.
• With their trademark fraternal harmonies, the Everlys delivered what sounds like a gentle country lullaby, until you actually listen to the words. It's a bitter little pill of doubt and emotional detachment, with Don Everly wondering, not altogether convincingly, whether he still gives a hoot after being burned. It's early proof of the Everly Brothers' gift for blending Appalachian melancholy with pop elegance, a mix that would later inspire everyone from the Beatles to Simon & Garfunkel.
• The song reappeared on Roots, The Everly's deeply underappreciated 1968 foray into country rock. This time, "I Wonder If I Care As Much" was dressed in a dreamy, swirling arrangement with haunting reverb, atmospheric effects, and a lusher instrumental backing.
• The brothers weren't getting along particularly well in 1968 (Phil was reportedly obsessed with Italian ballads; Don, according to producer Lenny Waronker, was "the scary one"), and the commercial outlook was bleak.
  
  Waronker, who would later produce Randy Newman, James Taylor, and Eric Clapton, told Mojo magazine regarding Roots:
  
  "That was a last-ditch effort because they hadn't had much success in a while. You could sense the tension. When we were almost finished they said, 'This is the worst thing we've ever done!'"
  
  He laughed it off, convinced them to let him assemble it, and Roots - while a flop in its time - was eventually embraced as one of the first great country-rock records.
• In 2014, Neil Young stepped into a vintage Voice-o-Graph recording booth (the sort used in amusement parks in the 1940s) and laid down "I Wonder If I Care As Much" for his covers album A Letter Home, produced with Jack White. It sounds like a transmission from a long-lost radio tower, full of static and sorrow.