From The Vinyl Gym: Oldies Hits of Love & Romance
As John-Paul Young sang in 1978: “Love IS In The Air”! And even though Valentine’s Day is over, there’s simply no escaping it! Through the decades, our airwaves have been filled with songs of love and romance. Good love. Bad love. Weird love.
And there were plenty of song titles that told us what love IS! Donnie Iris proclaimed: “Love IS Like A Rock (’82).” The Supremes needed to scratch: “Love IS Like An Itching In My Heart (’66).” Roxy Music told the world “Love IS The Drug (’76).
In 1968 The Troggs reminded us “Love Is All Around.” Even hit movies like Back To The Future touted “The Power Of Love” on it’s soundtrack, rocketing Huey Lewis & the News into the top ten on the Billboard Chart in 1985.
Other love songs gave us the darker side: Cher’s Dark Lady (’74), is a tale about revenge. Bon Jovi wound up with his own tales of woe with “Bad Medicine ’88)” and “You Give Love A Bad Name (’86)”. And love was dangerous: “Love Is A Battlefield” proclaimed Pat Benetar in ’83. Nazareth in ’76 warned us that Love Hurts while Def Leppard in ’88 wailed that “Love Bites.”
Below are more classic love songs from our past. Some you’ll hear on the oldies stations, while others are lost hits or One Hit Wonders. How many of these do you remember?
Love & Marriage – Frank Sinatra ’55
What Is Love? – The Playmates ’59
Hey! Baby – Bruce Channel ’62
I Love You Because – Al Martino ’63
Goin’ Out Of My Head – Little Anthony & the Imperials ’64
Do Wah Diddy Diddy – Manfred Mann ’64
What The World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon ’65
Cherish – The Association ’66
Love Eyes – Nancy Sinatra ’67
Look Of Love – Dusty Springfield ’67
All You Need Is Love – Beatles ’67
Something Stupid – Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra ’67
A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel) – Aretha Franklin ’67
Love Me Two Times – The Doors ’68
This Guy’s In Love With You – Herb Alpert ’68
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby – Marvin Gaye ’69
More Today Than Yesterday – Spiral Staircase ’69
I’ll Be There – The Jacksons ’70
Precious & Few – Climax ’72
Love Me For A Reason – the Osmonds ’74
Then Came You – Dionne Warwick & The Spinners ’74
It Only Takes a Minute – Tavares ’75
Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain & Tennille ’75
Feel Like Makin’ Love – Bad Company ’75
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) – Stevie Wonder ’77
Love Is Alive – Gary Wright ’76
Baby, I Love Your Way – Peter Frampton ’76
Angel In Your Arms – Hot ’77
How Much I Feel – Ambrosia ’78
Love Is Like Oxygen – Sweet ’78
Love You Inside Out – The Bee Gees ’79
One In A Million You – Larry Graham ’80
Lost In Love – Air supply ’80
Woman – John Lennon ’81
Private Eyes – Hall & Oates ’81
All This Love – Debarge ’83
Uptown Girl – Billy Joel ’83
Affair Of The Heart – Rick Springfield ’83
Lady Love Me (One More Time) – George Benson ’83
Along Comes A Woman – Chicago ’85
Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin ’85
Sweetest Taboo – Sade ’86
Touch Me (I Want Your Body) – Samantha Fox ’86
Secret Lovers – Atlantic Starr ’86
Love Power – Dionne Warwick & Jeffrey Osborne ’87
Hold On To The Nights – Richard Marx ’88
Together Forever – Rick Astley ’88
Nite and Day – Al Be Sure! ’88
Give these oldies a real workout! Watch them on YouTube or load them into your favorite listening devices. Take that trip down Memory Lane!
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