This is a list of love songs for adults. Hence, you will not find any songs from Titanic or Twilight. You will not find Bette Midler or Whitney Houston. Histronics does NOT = romance.The 25 songs listed here all have one thing in common - they celebrate the joyous nature of being in love. Some of these songs you may already know, and some you may not. But hopefully, you will discover some new music that will enrich your soul. Happy Valentine's Day!
Listed alphabetically:
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A GOOD FEELIN' TO KNOW – Poco. C’mon! One of the happiest songs
I’ve ever heard. Why this song was not a MASSIVE hit in the early 70s is one of
the greater mysteries of pop music. If Ritchie Furay never did anything else in
his professional life, (and he did a lot more!) he wrote this amazing song
about the joys of being in love
. LISTEN TO IT HERE.
BECAUSE– The Dave Clark Five. Great 60s rock ballad. Beats any
love song the Beatles ever recorded. The answer to every question is “Because,
because, I love you.”
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
CHANCES ARE – Johnny Mathis. Lush and dreamy. Mathis is always good
to set a romantic mood.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
DRUNK ON LOVE – Radney Foster. A really fun love song about a man
sitting at a bar who realizes he has just fallen in love. Best line: “That
kiss you just hammered me with, girl/ it’s a staggering revelation.”
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
FADE INTO YOU – Mazzy Starr. Most people first heard this song in
the movie “Angus” where it was used to great effect at a high school dance. Hope Sandoval’s voice is
barely a whisper floating on top of an ethereal beat lush with tambourine,
acoustic guitar, a weeping slide and tinkling piano. Once you hear it, it haunts you. Lovely.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE – Elvin Bishop. Okay, I’m showing my
1970s roots here. But if the music critic on Yahoo can choose ‘Let’s Do It’ by
LL Cool J as a romantic song … I can choose this simple love song with a killer
guitar solo by Bishop and a soulful, yearning vocal by Mickey Thomas. This is the song
that makes me forgive Thomas every time I hear him singing “We Built This City”
with the Starship.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
FOOLS THAT DREAM – Radney Foster. Foster is an amazing songwriter.
This is one of his best … a man realizing that sometimes love leads you in a
direction that others don’t agree you should pursue, but he is smart enough to
realize the best love stories are when people (fools) are not afraid to take a
risk.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
I FALL TO PIECES – Patsy Cline. Almost everyone chooses ‘Crazy’ for
a romantic Patsy Cline song. Again, we go against the grain. If you’re in love with someone
who does love you in return, Patsy sympathizes, and she’s got your back.
LISTEN TO IT HERE, great live performance 10 days before her death.
I KNEW LOVE – Nanci Griffith. A
bitter sweet ballad about love lost and the enduring hope that it is not
forever gone
. Nanci is a national treasure
. LISTEN TO IT HERE.
I'LL BE AROUND – The Spinners. This may be one of my favorite songs from the 1970s. A great loping groove. Granted, it’s
about a man who loses his love but resolves to be around for her in the future
should she ever need his friendship. That’s true romance. Greatest line: “And
now it’s up to me / To bow out gracefully.” Compare this attitude to the current crop of black singers about romance.
LISTEN TO IT HERE. SOUL TRAIN FOOTAGE! R.I.P Don Cornelius.
IT'S MAGIC – Keely Smith. We played this at our wedding
. This is a cover of one of Doris Day's big hits, but Keely's version is soooo much better
. It's an old fashioned love song, arranged and
orchestrated by Nelson Riddle and sung with great emotion by Keely Smith.
Riddle’s arrangement allows Keely to sing the song
twice … first as a slow ballad and then … as a swinging love song. All within 3
minutes! Stay with the video and see why most people in Vegas in the 50s considered Keely the female Sinatra. The way sings the word "wonderland" toward the end still kills me.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
I SAW THE LIGHT – Todd Rundgren. Another upbeat, happy love song. One
of those songs that always makes me smile and feel good.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN – Frank Sinatra. Obviously, this entire list could be nothing but Sinatra songs.
Frank is one of the
ultimate make-out artists. He literally is the soundtrack of romance for two generations of Americans. I’ve always appreciated this ‘under my skin’
concept. Swingin’ and sexy. Try not to snap your fingers as you listen.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
I WAS MADE TO LOVE HER – Stevie Wonder. When compiling a Romantic
Song list most people choose
Stevie Wonder’s
cheesy “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” or the atrocious “I Just Called To Say
I Love You.” This song however, is fun,
brimming with the joy of being in love.
JUST AS LONG AS YOU LOVE – Buck Owens. Buck doesn't screw around. He gets right to the heart of the matter with the opening line: “Well, I don’t care if the sun don’t shine / I
don’t care if the bells don’t chime / Just as long as you love me.” Perfect.
LISTEN TO IT HERE. BONUS: Great 60s Suits!
JUST MY IMAGINATION – The Temptations. Could be the prettiest song
I’ve ever heard. Eddie Kendricks’ last song as part of the Temptations is one
of the greatest love songs of all time.
His
voice is fragile and soaring.
LISTEN TO IT HERE. Clip is from the TV movie, and captures the animosity between the members of the band, but also shows the power that great music can wield.
LET'S PRETEND – The Raspberries. A classic pop song. Eric Carmen
was a great sponge, and this song is a perfect distillation of The Beatles, The
Beach Boys and The Byrds. Everytime I hear one of Eric Carmen's later 80s shlocky pop hits (remember
Dirty Dancing?) this song makes me forgive him.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
LET'S STAY TOGETHER – Al Green. A love song about the hardship of
cultivating the longevity of a relationship, sung with typical smoldering
passion by one of the all time great soul singers.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU– Shelby Lynne. Originally recorded by
Dusty Springfield as an up tempo pop song, Shelby Lynne slowed it down and
turned it into a smoldering torch song. Absolutely stunning.
LISTEN TO IT HERE. Our wedding song. Video is the one I created when my wife and I got engaged.
OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY – Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald. The
last song written by George and Ira Gershwin is one of their best. The duet between
Louis and Ella is, of course, masterful. Used very well in the soundtrack of
“When Harry Met Sally …”
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
POWER OF TWO – Indigo Girls. An amazing love song about the right
two is always better than just one
. LISTEN TO IT HERE.
RETURN TO ME – Dean Martin. Are you kidding me? For sheer
romanticism this is tough to beat. Lush strings and Dean singing in his
inimitable style, and even breaking into Italian at one point.
LISTEN TO IT HERE. Also, the title (and inspiration) of a great romantic movie starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver.
SINGING IN THE RAIN – Gene Kelly. One of my all time favorites because
this is one of the greatest movies ever. You cannot separate this song from the
famous scene of Kelly realizing he's in love with Kathy Sheridan and celebrates
his joy by cavorting in the street during a heavy rain. Sheer romantic magic!
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
STARLESS SUMMER SKY – Marshall Crenshaw. Another happy love song.
Listen to this and you will have a smile on your face, and tapping your toes.
Crenshaw should be an American Institution
. In some perfect alternative world, where Lady GaGa and Pearl Jam never got a recording contract, Crenshaw is the biggest rock and roll star of all time.
LISTEN TO IT HERE.
SURE THING – Foster & Lloyd. Another Radney Foster song. Best line:
“You dream of sure love and I dream of your love / Your dream and my
dream are one in the same.”
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