You Give Love a Bad Name (and Other "Love Songs" That Aren’t by Who You Thought)

You could say that Valentine's Day is a cheap Hallmark holiday cooked up by marketing goons to fill the shopping void between Christmas and Easter. Well, I say lighten up you sourpuss.

Just kidding. Be as cynical as you want. You probably have a point. Still, I won’t ever waste an occasion to celebrate love, nor an opportunity to spotlight a few classic love songs. 

But this feature is all about proving that, sometimes, the difference between a classic love song and a forgotten footnote is the singer. These are all songs you know, but perhaps not by the artists who originally recorded them. 

You Give Love a Bad Name

Bonnie Tyler (1986)

In 1983, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler topped the charts with "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Her signature song was written by Jim Steinman, a producer best known for his lifelong creative partnership with Meatloaf.

In 1986, Tyler once again enlisted Steinman, this time to produce her sixth studio album, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. The album contained a song composed by studio songwriter Desmond Child called “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man).”

The song reached #77 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a relative disappointment, and Tyler’s last charting single in the U.S.

Bon Jovi (1986)

In 1986, Bon Jovi was a rising commodity. The New Jersey glam rockers were still a few hits shy of superstardom. To wit, they spent part of 1985 opening for Ratt.

In search of a breakout hit, they enlisted Desmond Child for songwriting support on their third record, Slippery When Wet.

Desmond was still stinging over the lackluster performance of his Bonnie Tyler collaboration. However, he was convinced that his melody was a hit in the making. He worked closely with Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora to reconfigure the song.

The result was the lead single from their new record, and their first #1 hit--“You Give Love a Bad Name.”

Desmond also co-wrote “Livin’ On a Prayer”. The second consecutive chart-topper made Bon Jovi the first hair metal act to achieve this feat.

What’s Love Got to Do With It

Bucks Fizz (1984)

In 1981, a British group called Bucks Fizz was assembled by studio hacks to perform a song which had already been written. They recorded “Making Your Mind Up” and entered into that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Falling somewhere between ABBA and a Mentos commercial, the composition took first prize.

It touched off a brief run of success for Bucks Fizz. Though completely unknown in the U.S., the quartet scored 7 Top Ten hits in the U.K., including three chart-toppers.

But they were hardly the first choice for songwriters Graham Lyle and Terry Britten as they shopped around a new tune called "What’s Love Got to Do With It?" In fact, they had attempted without success to pair the song with Cliff Richard, then Phyllis Hyman, and finally Donna Summer. For various reasons, none ever had a chance to record it.

In February of 1984, Bucks Fizz received an offer to record the idle composition. Singer Jay Aston asked to sing lead, but her producer declined, arguing that the song was a poor fit for a female vocalist.

Male vocalist Bobby G. sang instead. The recording was stowed away for inclusion on the band's upcoming record.

Tina Turner (1984)

While Bucks Fizz sat on top of the original recording, Tina Turner recorded her own version for her fifth solo studio album, Private Dancer. In May of 1984, Tina Turner released “What’s Love Got to Do With It” minus the question mark in the original title.

It was not just the definitive version of the song, but Tuner's signature hit.

"What's Love Got to Do With It" went on to sell more than 2 million copies worldwide, giving Turner her first and only Billboard Hot 100 #1. At 44, Turner was the oldest female solo artist to top the charts up to that point.

*Cher holds the distinction today, for topping the charts with "Believe" in 1999, at age 53. I've opted not to include that song here. If you need to hear it, that's your business.

Back to Tina. She would also go on to sweep the Grammys that year, winning Best Record, Best Song, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Apparently, the song was a good fit for a female singer after all.

Got My Mind Set On You

James Ray (1962)

James Ray was born in Washington D.C. in 1941 and, standing at just five feet tall, performed first as Little Jimmy Ray. Still in his teens, James Ray left home for New York but found little success.

By age 20, he was dirt poor and living on a roof.

But the city was brimming with nightlife. James Ray befriended a songwriter named Rudy Clark in a local club. Together, they landed Ray a contract with Caprice Records. Recording “If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody,” Ray scored a minor hit in both the U.S. and the U.K.

Its performance on the other side of the pond was of some consequence. The pre-Fab Beatles took a liking to the song, and began performing it live. Then, in 1962, Manchester band Freddie and the Dreamers recorded a studio version and released it as a single. It became a U.K. top five hit.

That same year, Caprice Records folded and Ray signed to a Kapp subsidiary called Congress. There, he recorded the songs that would make up his eponymous debut record, including Rudy Clark’s “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You”.

It was never a hit. But as the story goes, George Harrison visited his sister in the U.S. in 1963, several months before the Beatles landed on Ed Sullivan. There, he heard Ray’s “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You” spinning in a record shop. He fell instantly in love. 

Sadly, it was at roughly the exact same time that Ray was fighting a losing battle with addiction. He overdosed at just 22 years old, a mere 10 months after the release of his debut record.

George Harrison (1987)

Some 25 years after first hearing the song, George Harrison recorded it for his 11th solo record, Cloud Nine. It would be Harrison’s first album in five years, and the last studio album released during is lifetime.

“Got My Mind Set On You” was released as a single in October of 1987 with production assistance from former Electric Light Orchestra mastermind and fellow Traveling Wilbury, Jeff Lynne.

It became George Harrison’s 3rd #1 single. And notably, it stood atop the charts the week before the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This made Harrison one of the very rare inductees to remain a charting force in popular music at the time of his enshrinement.

Red Red Wine

Neil Diamond (1967)

Either this is a breakup song about a woman, or it’s a love song about wine. It’s also one of countless songs written by Neil Diamond and made famous by other (read: better) singers. 

Still, Diamond’s songwriting bonafides are beyond reproach, most particularly during his extraordinarily prolific late-60s bloom. At a time when Diamond was churning out classics for other artists in a hit-making factory known as the Brill Building—“I’m a Believer” for the Monkees, “Sunday and Me” for Jay and the Americans, and “Kentucky Woman” by Deep Purple—“Red, Red Wine” was a bit of a throwaway.

Diamond had just departed Bang Records for greater success with Uni/MCA. But Bang continued to release Diamond singles, including a version of “Red, Red Wine” that stalled on the charts at #62 in 1968.

A few notable cover versions followed, including a 1968 version by Peter Tetteroo, the lead singer from Dutch band Tee-Set, which reached #6 in Holland; a reggae version by Jamaican singer Tony Tribe that hit #46 in the U.K. in 1969; and American teen idol Vic Dana’s version, which reached #72 in the U.S. in 1970.

UB40 (1983/1988)

Likely inspired by the Tony Tribe version that made the charts in their home country, British reggae revivalists UB40 recorded “Red Red Wine” in 1983. 

Their version became immediately definitive, topping the charts in the U.K. that year, and scaling up to #34 in the U.S. by 1984.

In the summer of 1988, UB40 was invited to play as part of the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert. They performed a version of "Red Red Wine" at the bash. When a radio station in Phoenix, Arizona placed the live cut on their playlist, it quickly became their most requested song.

With “Red Red Wine” suddenly a hot commodity, A&M Records decided the time was right to re-release and promote the band’s original single. By October of 1988, “Red Red Wine” was also a #1 hit in the U.S.