"Love the One You're With" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Stephen Stills | ||||
from the album Stephen Stills | ||||
B-side | "To a Flame" | |||
Released | November 1970 | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 3:03 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Stills | |||
Producer(s) | Stephen Stills | |||
Stephen Stills singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Official audio | ||||
"Love the One You're With") on YouTube |
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. [1] David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills's fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. Also providing the backups are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Jones, and John Sebastian. They all sing the "Do Dos" that come before the instrumental portion and the outro. The song was also recorded by the Isley Brothers, The Meters, Bucks Fizz, Luther Vandross, Bob Seger and Richard Clapton, among others.
Stills wrote the song after being inspired by the tag line — "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" which was a frequent remark by musician Billy Preston. Stills explained in 1991: "This song has been very good to me. The title came from a party with Billy Preston. I asked him if I could pinch this line he had, and he said, 'Sure.' So I took the phrase and wrote a song around it. It's a good times song, just a bit of fun. My favorite part is the steel drums. I played them before a little bit but I just kept diddling around till I found the right notes." [2]
Cash Box said that Stills's "unique melodic work, the harmonies and a booming rhythm track make this a bright attraction for top forty as well as FM playlists." [3] Record World said that "Stills shines with the help of some fine background singers and his vocal style is exemplary, as usual. The song's universal message is put across with a bright, yet driving, delivery." [4]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Love the One You're With" | |
---|---|
Single by the Isley Brothers | |
B-side | "He's Got Your Love" |
Released | 1971 |
Length | 3:27 |
Label | T-Neck |
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Stills |
Producer(s) | The Isley Brothers |
Several acts have since recorded the song, most notably, in 1971, the Isley Brothers, whose unique gospel-driven rendering of the song sent it to the charts again reaching number three R&B and number 18 pop, giving the group their fifth US top 40 pop single. [17] It also reached number 10 US Cash Box. On the Canadian charts, their version reached No. 41. [18]
"Love the One You're With" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bucks Fizz | ||||
B-side | "Too Hard" | |||
Released | August 20, 1986 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Stills | |||
Bucks Fizz singles chronology | ||||
|
UK pop group Bucks Fizz recorded the song for their eighteenth single in 1986. The single, released in August, was the follow-up to the group's comeback top ten hit "New Beginning (Mamba Seyra)" and was seen as a make or break release. Ultimately the song peaked at a low No.47 in the UK Singles Chart during a three-week run. [19] In a review, music magazine Number One said that the song lacked bass and sounded rather "tinny" but predicted that it would be a hit. [20] Member Mike Nolan puts the song's failure down to the decision to showcase other male member Bobby G as the lead singer. Their previous single had featured all the group equally and was a hit, while earlier flops had featured G on lead and this was a return to that format. [21] A promotional video for the song was filmed featuring the group performing the song in a blue-toned studio accompanied by backing musicians. [22] The single was released on 7" and 12" on Polydor Records with an extended mix on the latter, the B-side was a Bobby G composition, "Too Hard". [23] Also included on the 12" was an extended mix of earlier single "I Hear Talk". A second 12" single was released featuring a dance edit of "Love the One You're With", backed by another alternate mix of "I Hear Talk". [24]
"Love the One You're With" | |
---|---|
Single by Chantoozies | |
from the album Gild the Lily | |
Released | February 1991 |
Label | Mushroom |
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Stills |
Australian group Chantoozies released a version in February 1991. The song was the second single from the group's second studio album, Gild the Lily . The song peaked at number 21 on the Australian charts. [25]
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [26] | 21 |
"Love the One You're With" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Luther Vandross | ||||
from the album Songs | ||||
Released | November 14, 1994 [27] | |||
Length | 5:04 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stephen Stills | |||
Producer(s) | Walter Afanasieff | |||
Luther Vandross singles chronology | ||||
|
American singer Luther Vandross released a version of the song on his ninth album, Songs (1994). It peaked within the top 30 of the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, and earned Vandross a 1995 Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. [28]
M.R. Martinez from Cash Box described "Love the One You’re With" as "an optimistic celebration of love and music as Vandross is backed by an all-star choir that includes Lisa Fischer, Tawatha Gee, Jim Gilstrap and others." [29] Fell and Rufer from the Gavin Report wrote, "This 25-year-old Stephen Stills song was urbanized before by the Isley Brothers, but Luther turns it into a gospel hoot complete with the original Hammond organ effects from Stills's take. This is the song that garnered Vandross a Grammy nomination even before it was released as a single." [30] Dennis Hunt from Los Angeles Times felt Vandross "gives a leaden feel to the normally joyous "Love the One You're With", undercutting a breezy, gospel-style arrangement." [31] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Hailed the King of silky ballads, Luther also knows how to speed it up. In a New Orleans way, and challenged by a gospel group, this [...] cover shows him at his toughest." [32]
Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [33] | 56 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [34] | 40 |
Scotland (OCC) [35] | 41 |
UK Singles (OCC) [36] | 31 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [37] | 95 |
In 2012, the song was featured in Ridley Scott's science fiction movie Prometheus . Idris Elba, playing Janek, sings a short phrase from the song after claiming his squeezebox once belonged to Stephen Stills. [40]
In 2022 the song featured in the season finale of BBC series Blue Lights .
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
"Reflections" is a 1967 song recorded by American soul music group The Supremes for the Motown label. The single release was the first Supremes record credited to "Diana Ross and the Supremes", and the song was one of the last Motown hits to be written and produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland before they left the label.
"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J. Blige.
"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans. The song was composed by Jam, Lewis, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch. The song was released as the soundtrack's lead single on May 12, 1992, by Perspective Records and A&M Records. Additionally, the song was remixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and CJ Mackintosh. The duet became a major hit in several countries, peaking at number two in Australia and the United Kingdom, number six in Ireland and New Zealand, number eight in Canada and Germany, and number 10 in the United States. Its music video was directed by Paris Barclay, but didn't feature Vandross and Jackson. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
"Evergreen" is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born. It was composed and performed by American singer, songwriter, actress and director Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams, and arranged by Ian Freebairn-Smith. The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born.
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA Gold record.
"Cry for You" is a song by American R&B group Jodeci recorded for their second album, Diary of a Mad Band (1993). The song was released as the album's lead single in November 1993 by Uptown/MCA. It peaked at numbers fifteen and nineteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. The song also spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart, and number one on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales in excess of 500,000 units.
"Power of Love/Love Power" is a single by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released on April 9, 1991 as the lead single from his 1991 album of the same name. The song spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart, and peaked at number four on the US pop chart, becoming his biggest pop solo hit.
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.
"Angel in Blue" is a song written by Seth Justman that was first released by the J. Geils Band on their 1981 album Freeze Frame. Cissy Houston and Luther Vandross appear on the song as back up vocalists. "Angel in Blue" was also released on a number of J. Geils Band compilation albums, including Centerfold, The Very Best J. Geils Band Album Ever and Best of The J. Geils Band, as well as several multi-artist compilation albums.
"Love Won't Let Me Wait" is a hit 1975 single by Major Harris, a former member of R&B/soul group The Delfonics. Written by Vinnie Barrett and Bobby Eli, the single is considered to be a staple of classic soul playlists, and was Harris' only entry into the top five on both the soul and pop charts. The single hit number five on the pop chart, and also hit number one on the soul chart for one week. Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song for 1975. It was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. on 25 June 1975.
"Keep Coming Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Richard Marx. It appears on his third solo album, Rush Street, and was both written and produced by Marx. The lyrics to the song detail a man's unrequited love for a woman. Working with musicians such as Luther Vandross and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, Marx sought to explore different musical territory with this single, stating that "I wanted to write an old-fashioned R&B song."
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on 3 December 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
"How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye" is a 1983 song by Dionne Warwick and Luther Vandross. The ballad was issued as the lead single of Warwick's album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, later appearing on Vandross' album Busy Body, both of which were released in 1983.
"Your Secret Love" is a song by American recording artist Luther Vandross, released in August 1996 as the lead single in support of his tenth studio album, Your Secret Love (1996). The single peaked at No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)" is a song by American recording artist Luther Vandross. Released in April 1993 by Epic Records, the single supports his platinum and eight album, Never Let Me Go (1993). The song was written by Vandross and Marcus Miller, and produced by them both. It became a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and reached top 30 on the UK Singles Chart. It also became the most successful single from the album on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number sixty-two. "Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)" was nominated for best R&B songwriting at the 36th Grammy Awards in March 1994.
"Heaven Knows" is a song by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross, released in September 1993 by Epic and Sony as the second single from his eight studio album, Never Let Me Go (1993). The song was written by Vandross with Reed Vertelney and produced by Marcus Miller. It peaked in the top 30 on both the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles and Hot Dance Club Play charts, and also at thirty-three on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart. "Heaven Knows" was nominated for Best R&B Song alongside "Little Miracles " at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in March 1994, losing to "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson.
"Sit Yourself Down" is a song written by Stephen Stills that was released on his 1970 solo debut album Stephen Stills. It was also released as the second single from the album, following the Top 20 hit "Love the One You're With." and reached the Top 40, peaking at #37.
"Change Partners" is a song written by Stephen Stills that was released on his 1971 album Stephen Stills 2. It was also released as the debut single from the album, just missing the Top 40, and peaking at number 43 on the Billboard Charts, during the week of July 24, 1971 and spending 9 weeks on the chart.