Love is messy, magnificent, and occasionally set to a thumping disco beat. Lucky for you, my music library has compiled the full emotional instruction manual.
| Title | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Top Of The World | The Carpenters | A bright, grateful celebration of feeling uplifted by love and life. Richard Carpenter wrote the melody while in an unusually buoyant mood during a period of massive Carpenters success, and John Bettis added lyrics reflecting pure gratitude. Originally an album track, Lynn Anderson released a country cover before the Carpenters finally issued their own hit single in 1972. One of their most cheerful, enduring classics. |
Pour Un Flirt Avec Toi | Michel Delpech | A playful ode to flirtation and romantic teasing. Michel Delpech wrote it to capture the breezy, carefree spirit of early 70s French youth culture. Released in 1971, it quickly became one of his most famous songs, still beloved for its infectious whistling hook and sunny charm. |
| Somebody To Love | Jefferson Airplane | Grace Slick brought it into Jefferson Airplane after leaving The Great Society, who recorded the original version in 1966. The Airplane’s explosive cover turned it into a counterculture anthem. Written by Grace Slick’s brother-in-law, Darby Slick, The Great Society, which also included her husband Jerry Slick, released the song as a single in late 1965. Darby Slick saw the downside of free love in the mid-’60s and wrote this song that champions loyalty and monogamy. Jefferson Airplane’s version was one of the first big hits to come out of the US West Coast counterculture scene. Over the next few years, musicians flocked to the San Francisco Bay area to be part of this scene. |
| Crazy Stupid Love (ft. Tinie Tempah) | Cheryl Cole | A melodramatic confession of total devotion—but with personal boundaries (“that” refers to actions that would betray love or integrity). Written by Jim Steinman as rock-opera storytelling and performed by American rock singer Meat Loaf with additional vocals by Lorraine Crosby and wordless background vocals by Todd Rundgren, Rory Dodd and Kasim Sulton. The full version runs 12 minutes and became Meat Loaf’s biggest global hit. |
| I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) | Meat Loaf | A melodramatic confession of total devotion—but with personal boundaries (“that” refers to actions that would betray love or integrity). Written by Jim Steinman as rock-opera storytelling and performed by American rock singer Meat Loaf with additional vocals by Lorraine Crosby and wordless background vocals by Todd Rundgren, Rory Dodd and Kasim Sulton. The full version runs 12 minutes and became Meat Loaf’s biggest global hit. |
| Crazy On You | Heart | Ann and Nancy Wilson wrote this 1976 passionate escape from real-world chaos through love and desire (for Ann’s boyfriend, Heart guitarist Mike Fisher), amid political tension and personal stress, channeling anxiety into a defiant, fiery romantic anthem. The song opens with the 45 seconds acoustic guitar stylings of Nancy Wilson, Ann’s sister and bandmate, before Roger Fisher’s (Mike’s brother) electric guitar blasts in. |
| (Sending Out An) S.O.S. | Retta Young | A 1975 disco-era “emotional distress call” for lost love written within the lush Philly soul tradition by Allan Landon and Douglas Lenier, the song expresses desperation after heartbreak. An original track that became a club favourite, especially in Europe and later in the Northern Soul revival. Retta Young (a.k.a. Reeta Young, Rhetta Young) was born in 1949, South Carolina, U.S.A. and the wife of Al Goodman of the group The Moments. |
| I’ll Never Find Another You | The Seekers | This was written by Tom Springfield, Dusty Springfield’s brother and band mate of the English folk group The Springfields, who wrote most of the Seekers’ identifiable material during the ’60s. The Seekers where the first Australian group ever to reach No. 1 in UK with their first three singles including this debut record. Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley were joint ‘Australians Of The Year 1967’. |
| You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me | Dusty Springfield | When Dusty Springfield heard the Italian song composed by Pino Donnagio at the San Remo festival she asked her friend Vicki Wickham, who produced the British TV show Ready Steady Go, to write some English lyrics for it. Wickham wrote this first pop lyric in 1966 with the help of Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell. |
| You’ve Made Me So Very Happy | Blood, Sweat & Tears | Originally a hit for Motown artist Brenda Holloway in 1967, who shared writing credit on the song with Berry Gordy, Frank Wilson and Patrice Holloway. It’s about gratitude and joy for a transformative love. Blood, Sweat & Tears founder and keyboard player Al Kooper came up with the idea to cover this song, but he left the group before they recorded it. His replacement, David Clayton-Thomas, took over and sang lead on this track. |
| Only You | Alison Moyet | A soulful, slowed-down reinterpretation of the Yazoo classic about longing for a past lover whose absence still lingers. Vince Clarke originally wrote it in 1982 after leaving Depeche Mode, inspired by feelings of uncertainty and emotional transition. Moyet’s later solo version is technically a cover of herself, more intimate and reflective. |
| Your Love Is King | Sade | A serene, sensual meditation on emotional trust and romantic surrender. Sade Adu and Stuart Matthewman wrote it while forging their minimalist jazz-soul sound, inspired by warmth, elegance, and intimacy rather than pop drama. This 1984 song became Sade’s breakout hit and a defining quiet-storm classic. |
Sources
The information sources of the song facts include, but are not limited to, Wikipedia, songfacts.com, discogs.com, secondhandsongs.com, YouTube and artists’ related websites.
