People!

The cover version by People!

People!

People! was a one-hit wonder rock band that was formed in San Jose, California in 1965. They started out playing "Top 40" music like most artists but ended up releasing three albums of mostly original material. Their greatest chart success came with their summer hit single "I Love You", a song...

, released in February 1968 (officially, it was the B-side of "Somebody Tell Me My Name", which was written by Dennis Fridkin and Geoff Levin) (Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 2078) was a #14 hit in the USA and went to #1 in Japan (Capitol CR-1960). In 1968 Capitol released People!'s version in Mexico (Capitol 6353); Australia (Capitol 1729); Canada (Capitol 2078), where it reached #7 in May 1968; Brazil, backed with 1000 Years B.C. (written by Larry Norman

Larry Norman

Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...

 and Robb Levin) (Capitol 7C-11072); France (Capitol CLF 2078); Germany (Capitol 23827); Japan (Capitol CR -1960); United Kingdom (Capitol 15553); and Singapore (Capitol CL-15553). An EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 was released in Spain (Capitol EAP-21103). After extensive promotion by the band and its manager, and industry advertising by Capitol, "I Love You" quickly became a hit single, selling more than one million copies, and reaching a peak of #14 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 Hot 100 on 14 June 1968,, #14 on the US Radio Singles Chart on 14 June 1968; and reaching #13 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart on 29 June 1968, and became a #1 single in several markets, including Italy, Israel, and Japan. According to the liner notes of the 2006 Best of People! Volume 1 album, People!'s version of "I Love You" could have topped the US national charts if not for industry rivalries:

"It was #1 in Japan. It was big everywhere. Israel, South Africa, England, Scandinavia, Argentina and America where it actually hit #1 in every "market" all over the country, but not in the same week. Bill Gavin

Gavin Report

The Gavin Report was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs...

 and Bill Drake

Bill Drake

Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...

 had two competitive companies who did exactly the same thing. For an expensive membership each would advise radio stations on what was bubbling up and was going to be a popular release to put into rotation on the radio playlist

Playlist

In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. They can be played in sequential or shuffled order. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.-In radio:...

. But People! was produced by Mikel Hunter

Captain Mikey

Marion Elbridge Herrington , , best known as Captain Mikey , was an American disc jockey; voice-over actor, who was the national voice for Sears; and innovative radio program...

, an upstart who broke all the rules of AM Boss Jock Radio

Boss Radio

Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...

 and could predict much more accurately what was going to be a hit. So any radio programmer could take a look at Hunter's playlist, several weeks ahead of the nation, and pick the hits for free. Gavin and Drake decided to bury Hunter and one way was to advise programmers NOT to play "I Love You." "It's not going to be a hit." was their steady message for the four months during which "I Love You" fought its way to the top of every chart. A sad story. But a funny one, because People! was able to do a concert in every city while their single was the hottest thing on the local charts. Most bands can only do concerts for a week as their song hits #1 and then is pushed off the charts by a Beatles song, or even a Monkees song. So People! followed the path that the song laid down and had the biggest and longest thrill ride any band can have. It was a freakish phenomenon and one that never happened again. The suppression and black-ball attempts of Gavin and Drake spun the band into the majors and the band toured with The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

 and would have kept on going. But Larry [Norman] left the band on the day when Capitol followed up the little hit that could with a revamped version of the album for its premier release. Had the song been left on its own, unopposed, it would have sat atop the national charts at #1 for several weeks according to the overall tally in the end. Had Larry stayed in the group, who knows what might have happened".

After the release of their single "I Love You", People! toured extensively, appearing three times on Dick Clark's American Bandstand

American Bandstand

American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

, and also on Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson

John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...

's Tonight Show. Billboard ranked People!'s version as #53 in their top 100 songs for 1968, while it was ranked #75 in the Cashbox annual charts, and #109 on US Radio for 1968. and #15 for US magazine Record World.
The success of People!'s version of "I Love You" frustrated The Zombies. According to Zombies member Colin Blunstone

Colin Blunstone

Colin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:...

: "That was a bit of a heartbreaker. It wasn't a favourite song of mine to be absolutely honest, but it was a little disappointing that we were struggling so hard".

In July 1968 "I Love You" was included on People!'s debut album also named I Love You, which was released in the USA (Capitol ST-2924), and subsequently in Canada (Capitol ST-2924), Germany (Capitol SMK 74 559), Brazil (Capitol ST-2924), New Zealand (Capitol ST-2924), Taiwan (Leico PLS-3304), and Singapore (Capitol ST-2924). Despite the success of the "I Love You" single, People!'s heavy touring schedule, a promotional film of the group performing the song which aired on American Bandstand, and despite favorable reviews, the subsequent album, which was named after their hit single, was released by 13 July 1968, but only reached #138 on the Billboard album charts on 10 August 1968.

Los Chijuas (1968)

"I Love You" was covered in 1968 by garage band

Garage band

The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...

 Los Chijuas, a garage band

Garage band

The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...

 from Ciudad Juarez

Ciudad Juárez

Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...

, Chihuahua, Mexico

Chihuahua, Mexico

Chihuahua, Mexico, may refer to:* The State of Chihuahua in Mexico* The City of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, its capital...

, on their eponymous album on the Musart label. The album was reissued by Action Records (AR-303). Los Chijuas also released a Spanish language version, "Te Quiero", on their 2003 album El Esquimal (Musart/Balboa).

The Summer Sounds (1969)

In 1969 The Summer Sounds, a five-piece pre-Psychedelic garage band from Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Dartmouth, Massachusetts

Dartmouth is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States established in 1664. The population was 30,665 at the 2000 census. It is the location of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth....

, sang "I Love You" on their self-published 1969 debut album Up-Down (Laurel LP 331098), "a beat-garage concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

 detailing the highs and lows of a summer vacation romance", which was distributed by Canadian label Laurel Records.

The Endless Knights (1970)

The Endless Knights - The History Of Syracuse Music Volume I: The Groups - 1958-1970 1970: (ECEIP PSLP 1005); 2006: (WPM 67-1).

The Bent Scepters (1997)

Garage rock

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 group The Bent Scepters, which was formed in Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

 in 1991, covered "I Love You" on their 1997 album Blind Date With Destiny (Bizarre Planet Records).

The Carnabeats (1967)

The song was translated into Japanese by Kenji Sazanami as "Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa" (好きさ好きさ好きさ) and recorded by Tokyo band The Carnabeats (ザ・カーナビーツ), a Japanese Group Sounds

Group Sounds

Group Sounds is a genre of Japanese rock music. Inspired by The Beatles, Group Sounds became popular in the mid to late 1960s. Group Sounds initiated fusion of Japanese kayōkyoku music and rock music...

 band, with 16 year old drummer Ai Takano singing the lead vocal. On 1 June 1967 the single (Philips FS-1018) was released in Japan by Philips Records

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...

, backed with a cover of I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman

I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman

"I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" was a hit single in 1967 composed by Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway.  It was a novelty record, being performed mostly by whistling. This was credited to Whistling Jack Smith and Billy Moeller appeared under this name, though the whistling was really performed by John...

 (口笛天国). The single debuted at #7 in the local charts in September 1967, before peaking at #2 on 4 November 1967. "Sukisa Sukisa Sukisa", the band's first and biggest hit, was included on their debut album Carnabeats First Album, which was released in 1968, and re-released in 2003 by Teichiku Records (TECN-20941). After several more singles, and their only album, The Carnabeats disbanded in the Fall of 1969.

The success of The Carnabeats' Japanese version of "I Love You" in Japan, resulted in the original version by The Zombies being released in Japan, where it was a best-selling hit and was ranked #8 for the year of 1967.

Nana Kinomi and Leo Beats (1968)

In 1968 21 year-old Mariko Ikeda (池田鞠子) (born 11 July 1946 in Tokyo), the daughter of a trumpeter of the Nichigeki Theatre Orchestra, who had been recording as Nana Kinomi (木の実ナナ) since 1962, sang a "sultry Suki Sa Suki Sa Suki Sa", with the Leo Beats on her album Let's Go Nana (Cutie Girl with GS series) (PARADE).

Other Japanese cover versions

Several other Japanese artists also released their versions including Kobayashi Ayako (小林彩子) on 21 November 1990; J-pop

J-pop

, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

 female band Mi-Ke in November 1991, the KinKi Kids

KinKi Kids

is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....

 (キンキキッズ,) in 1993, and MaKi. The Prince of Tennis

The Prince of Tennis

is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi. The title is often shortened to , a portmanteau of the two parts in the Japanese pronunciation of the words "Tennis Prince". The manga was first published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1999, and ended...

 (テニスの王子様) manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 character Keigo Atobe (跡部 景吾), who is voiced by Junichi Suwabe

Junichi Suwabe

is a Japanese voice actor working for Haikyo. His most known roles involve, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques , Archer , Keigo Atobe and Omega ....

 (諏訪部 順一), has also released a version in October 2008.

Los Shippy's (1968)

In mid-1968 Mexican psychedelic garage rock band Los Shippy's recorded a Spanish language versions of "I Love You" ("Te Amo") on their eponymous third album Los Skippy's (Discos Capitol; Capitol).

Os Incríveis (1968)

Brazilian band Os Incríveis (The Incredibles), who were formed as The Clevers in São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, Brazil in 1962, recorded a Portuguese language version, "Te Amo" on their April 1968 album Internationais (RCA Victor BBL-1460).

Other cover versions

Other cover versions include:

• Ed Rogers - on The Losers Lounge, How Can a Loser Ever Win? (Zilcho Records, 2001)
• Erik Paparazzi on Tribute to the Zombies (The Loser's Lounge)
• Outcasts
• The Uptight

Discography

The song "I Love You" appears on the following records:

• The Zombies - The Zombies (Decca LK 4843) Sweden (1965)
• The Zombies - I Love You Holland (1966) Reissue (VARESE SARABANDE) USA (2004)
• The Zombies - Early Days (London Records PS 557) UK (1969)
• The Zombies - Time Of The Zombies (Epic EPC 68262) Netherlands (1973)
• The Zombies - Time Of The Zombies (Epic REG 32861, PEG 32861) USA (1974)
• The Zombies - Rock Roots: The Zombies (Decca ROOTS 2) UK (1976)
• The Zombies - Gigantes Del Pop: The Zombies (Decca 64-95-077) Spain]). (1976)
• The Zombies - The Best of the Zombies (London Records MIP-1-9373) Canada (1982) (PolyGram MIP-9373) Canada (1982)
• The Zombies - Zombies (See For Miles Records Ltd. SEE 30) (1984)
• The Zombies - The Singles A's & B's (See For Miles Records Ltd. SEE CD 30) (1988)
• The Zombies - The Zombies Collection, Volume 1 (Line/Impact IMCD 9.00692 O) (1989)
• The Zombies - Greatest Hits (DCC Compact Classics Inc./Marquis DZS-052) (1990)
• The Zombies - The Zombies 1964-67 ((RCA PD74505, More Music MOCD3009)
• The Zombies - The Best Of The Zombies (Music Club MCCD 002) UK (1991)
• The Zombies - The EP Collection (See For Miles Records Ltd. SEE CD 358) UK (1992)
• The Zombies - Time of the Season: Complete Studio Recordings of The Zombies (Century Records, CECC00500) Japan (1993)
• The Zombies - The Best Of The Zombies Red Edit (Teichiku Records TECW-20059) Japan (1995)
• The Zombies - Zombie Heaven (Ace/Big Beat Records ZOMBOX 7) USA/UK (1997) Japan (Vivid Sound) (1997)
• The Zombies - Time Of The Season Ep (ZOO Magazine ZOO EP 11) Greece (1998)
• The Zombies - Absolutely The Best (Fuel 2000 Records) (1999)
• The Zombies - Best Of The 60's (Disky SI 990762) (2000)
• The Zombies - The Singles Collection: As & Bs 1964-1969 (Big Beat Records CDWIKD 200) UK (2000)
• The Zombies - Greatest Hits (Audio Fidelity AFZ 001) USA (2002)
• The Zombies - The Zombies Collection (Castle Communications CCSCD 196) UK
• People! - "I Love You"/ "Somebody Tell Me My Name" (Capitol 2078) (1968)
• People! - "I Love You"/ "I Love You" (Capitol P 4481 / P 4482) (1968)
• People! - I Love You (Capitol ST 2924) (1968)
• People! - "Te Amo" ( I Love You) - Capitol En El Hit Parade Vol. 1 (Capitol TM 21112) Mexico (1968)
• People! - Super Oldies Vol. 3 (Capitol STBB-2910) (1968)
• People! - Solitary Dreams (Capitol SLB-6991) (1975)
• People! - Nuggets Volume Three: Pop (Rhino Records RNLP 027) (1984)
• People! - 1968: Shakin' All Over (Time Life Music 2CLR-19, OPCD-2581) (1989)
• People! - Flower Power-Hits Of The 60's (Capitol CDLL-57271) Canada (1990)
• People! - Rock On Christian Vintage (Madacy/Sony MC2-5266) (2002)
• People! - The Best Of People! Vol 1 (People! Records SRP-001) (2006) (Long Album Version) 4:34
• People! - Love Is The Song We Sing (San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970) (Rhino Records R2 165564) (2007)
• People! - The Reunion Concert 2006 (Solid Rock Records SRD-126) USA (2007)
• The Summer Sounds - Up Down (Laurel Records LP 331098) USA (1969) (Radioactive RRCD078, RRLP078) UK (2004)
• MS マシーン [Magical Science Machine] - "好きさ好きさ好きさ / I Love You" (SMS Records SM06-11) Japan (1979)
• Michirou Endoh – “好きさ・好きさ・好きさ” [I Love You] Vietnam Legend (Captain Records CAP-0015-L) Japan (1986)
• Mi-Ke - Omoide no G.S. Kujuukuri-hama (Released 21 April 1991)
• Aihiyo - Aihiyo (Tokuma Japan Communications TKCF-77022) Japan (1998) Lyrics by Kenji Ren
• Nana Kinomi & Leo Beats - Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966-1970 (Big Beat Records CDWIKD 288) UK (2009)
• Larry Norman and People! - The Israel Tapes (Phydeaux WOOF-999-1) USA (1980) (Solid Rock SRD-803) USA (2000)
• Larry Norman - Down Under (But Not Out) (Phydeaux ARF-377) (1986) (Royal Music RMLP-025) Sweden (1986) (Phydeaux PRD-017) (2006)
• Larry Norman - Copper Wires (Solid Rock SRD-800) USA (1998) Holland (Spark SK-7093) (1999)
• Larry Norman - We Wish You A Larry Christmas (Solid Rock SRD-864) USA (1998)
• Larry Norman - Survivor (Solid Rock SRD-406)(2000)
• Larry Norman - Rock, Scissors et Papier (Solid Rock SRD-901) (2003)
• Larry Norman - I Love You Korea (Solid Rock Records
  Solid Rock Records
  Solid Rock Records is the record label of Larry Norman. It was set up in 1975 to distribute his own work, after he had been released by Capitol Records. Solid Rock had a distribution deal with Word Records until 1980....
  
  ILY-1) (2007)
• The Carnabeats - Carnabeats: First Album (Philips PLP-7724) (1967) Reissue (Teichiku) (1999)
• The Carnabeats - Complete Singles (Teichiku) (1999)
• The Carnabeats - ザ・ジャガーズ meets ザ・カーナビーツ[The Jaguars Meet the Carnabeats] (Teichiku) (2003)
• The Carnabeats - The Carnabeats - Collection Vol. 1
• Los Chijuas - "Te Quiero" (I Love You) - Psychodelicias Vol. 3 (Spanish & South American Pop Sweeties) (What's That Sound 1968)