Love Is Strange
Encyclopedia
"Love Is Strange" was a crossover
hit by American
rhythm and blues
duet Mickey & Sylvia
, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove
record label
.
The song was based on a guitar
riff
by Jody Williams
. The co-writers of the song are of some dispute. The song has also been recorded by Buddy Holly
and Bo Diddley
, among others.
in Washington, D.C.
Mickey & Sylvia heard Jody Williams play a guitar riff that Williams had played on Billy Stewart
's debut single "Billy's Blues". "Billy's Blues" was released as a single
in June 1956 and the instrumentation combined a regular blues
styling with Afro-Cuban
styling. Sylvia Robinson claims that she and Mickey Baker wrote the lyrics, while Bo Diddley claims that he wrote them.
The first recorded version of "Love Is Strange" was performed by Bo Diddley, who recorded his version on May 24, 1956 with Jody Williams on lead guitar. This version was not released until its appearance on I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958 in 2007. Mickey & Sylvia's version was recorded several months later on October 17, 1956.
magazine's R&B Singles
chart and #11 on the Hot 100
. In 2004 "Love Is Strange" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
for its influence as a rock and roll
single.
's version of the song charted on both Billboards Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts peaking at #13 and 16, respectively. Buddy Holly
recorded a version of "Love Is Strange" that was not released until 1969, a decade after his death. His version reached #115 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
chart and #76 on the RPM
100. In 1975, Buck Owens
and Susan Raye
had a Top 20 country hit with the song. The song was also covered in 1990 by Kenny Rogers
and Dolly Parton
. The recording, the title cut of Rogers' Love Is Strange
album, was released as a single, and reached #21 on the U.S. country singles chart.
recorded a version which appeared on the B-side
of his 1957 hit single
, "Cumberland Gap
". The Everly Brothers
released a rendition in 1965 as a single and on their Beat & Soul
album. Sonny and Cher also covered the song in 1964. Paul McCartney
sang it as a duet with wife Linda
on the Wings
album Wild Life (1971). Everything but the Girl
covered the song on their album Worldwide & again on a subsequent album Acoustic. Chubby Checker
, accompanied by Dee Dee Sharp
, covered the song on the 1960 record "Twist with Chubby Checker". Also in 1998, German synth-pop band Wolfsheim
did a cover of the song for their EP Once in a Lifetime. Jackson Browne
and David Lindley
also covered the song on the live album Love Is Strange, which captures live highlights from their 2006 tour of Spain
.
Rapper B.o.B.
sampled
this song in this song "My Sweet Baby".
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
hit by American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
duet Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo, composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records.Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. Baker was inspired to form the group by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford. They had a Top 20 hit...
, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove
Groove Records
Groove Records was founded by Billboard reporter Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red was its first hit but Mickey and Sylvia was its first big seller. The label also recorded King Curtis, Arthur Crudup, Brook Benton and...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
The song was based on a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
riff
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
by Jody Williams
Jody Williams (blues musician)
Joseph Leon Williams , better known as Jody Williams, is an American blues guitarist and singer. His singular guitar playing, marked by flamboyant string-bending, imaginative chord changes and a distinctive tone, was influential in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.-Career:In the mid 1950s,...
. The co-writers of the song are of some dispute. The song has also been recorded by Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
and Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, among others.
Background and recordings
At a concert at Howard TheatreHoward Theatre
The Howard Theatre is a historic theatre, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C..Opened in 1910, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Mickey & Sylvia heard Jody Williams play a guitar riff that Williams had played on Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.-Biography:...
's debut single "Billy's Blues". "Billy's Blues" was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in June 1956 and the instrumentation combined a regular blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
styling with Afro-Cuban
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
styling. Sylvia Robinson claims that she and Mickey Baker wrote the lyrics, while Bo Diddley claims that he wrote them.
The first recorded version of "Love Is Strange" was performed by Bo Diddley, who recorded his version on May 24, 1956 with Jody Williams on lead guitar. This version was not released until its appearance on I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958 in 2007. Mickey & Sylvia's version was recorded several months later on October 17, 1956.
Charts and accolades
"Love Is Strange" peaked at #1 BillboardBillboard (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...
magazine's R&B Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart and #11 on the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. In 2004 "Love Is Strange" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...
for its influence as a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
single.
Charting versions
In 1967, Peaches & HerbPeaches & Herb
Peaches & Herb was an American vocalist duo, once comprising Herb Fame and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker...
's version of the song charted on both Billboards Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts peaking at #13 and 16, respectively. Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
recorded a version of "Love Is Strange" that was not released until 1969, a decade after his death. His version reached #115 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
chart and #76 on the RPM
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
100. In 1975, Buck Owens
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
and Susan Raye
Susan Raye
Susan Raye is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid 1970's and chalked up seven top 10 and nineteen top 40 country hits Susan Raye discography, most notably the song "L.A...
had a Top 20 country hit with the song. The song was also covered in 1990 by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
and Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
. The recording, the title cut of Rogers' Love Is Strange
Love Is Strange (album)
Love Is Strange is a 1990 album by country music superstar Kenny Rogers.- Track listing :# Love Is Strange [Duet with Dolly Parton] [3:27]# Soldier of Love [2:50]...
album, was released as a single, and reached #21 on the U.S. country singles chart.
Other versions
Lonnie DoneganLonnie Donegan
Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
recorded a version which appeared on the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of his 1957 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
". The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
released a rendition in 1965 as a single and on their Beat & Soul
Beat & Soul
Beat & Soul is the name of an album by The Everly Brothers, originally released in 1965. It peaked at No. 141 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts...
album. Sonny and Cher also covered the song in 1964. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
sang it as a duet with wife Linda
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
on the Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
album Wild Life (1971). Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
covered the song on their album Worldwide & again on a subsequent album Acoustic. Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, accompanied by Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...
, covered the song on the 1960 record "Twist with Chubby Checker". Also in 1998, German synth-pop band Wolfsheim
Wolfsheim (band)
Wolfsheim was a synthpop band from Hamburg, Germany that consisted of Markus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner. Although never officially disbanded, Wolfsheim has been inactive since 2005 due to a dispute between the two members, which even led to trials in 2007 and 2008 that forbade either member to...
did a cover of the song for their EP Once in a Lifetime. Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
and David Lindley
David Lindley (musician)
David Perry Lindley is an American musician who is notable for his work with Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, and other rock musicians. He has worked extensively in other genres as well, performing with artists as varied as Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton...
also covered the song on the live album Love Is Strange, which captures live highlights from their 2006 tour of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Rapper B.o.B.
B.O.B.
B.O.B. is a video game that was released in 1993. It is a side-scrolling game developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Foley Hi-Tech Systems, and published by Electronic Arts. It is both a 2D shooter and a platform game, and is available for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega...
sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
this song in this song "My Sweet Baby".