View source for Love Is Strange

{{short description|1956 single by Mickey & Sylvia}}
{{About|the Mickey & Sylvia song|other uses|Love Is Strange (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Love Is Strange
| cover      = Mickey & Sylvia Love is Strange 78.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Mickey & Sylvia]]
| album      =
| B-side     = I'm Going Home
| released   = {{Start date|1956|11}}<ref name="Billboard">{{cite magazine |date=November 24, 1956 |title=Reviews of New R&B Records |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=68 |issue= 47 |page=48 |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Ackerman |editor1-link=Paul Ackerman |access-date=March 4, 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQoEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Groove+0175%22&pg=PA48}}</ref>
| recorded   = October 17, 1956<ref name="RPM">[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1088180 "Love is Strange" b/w "Love is a Treasure"] by [[Mickey & Sylvia]]. [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]] 45 RPM (447-0599).</ref>
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Rock and roll]]|[[rhythm and blues]]}}
| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=52}}
| label      = [[Groove Records|Groove]]
| writer     = [[Bo Diddley]] (as Ethel Smith)<ref name="RPM" />
| producer   = [[Bob Rolontz]]<ref name="RPM" />
| prev_title = No Good Lover
| prev_year  = 1956
| next_title = There Oughta Be a Law
| next_year  = 1957
| misc       = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|5SwMB9v1pQ4|"Love Is Strange"}}}}
}}

"'''Love Is Strange'''" is a [[Crossover (music)|crossover]] hit by American [[rhythm and blues]] duet [[Mickey & Sylvia]], which was released in late November 1956 by the [[Groove Records|Groove]] record label.<ref name="Billboard" />

The song was based on a guitar [[Ostinato|riff]] by [[Jody Williams (blues musician)|Jody Williams]] and was written by [[Bo Diddley]] under the name of his wife at the time, Ethel Smith; it was recorded by Bo and [[Buddy Holly]], among others.

== Background and recordings ==
At a concert at [[Howard Theatre]] in Washington, D.C. Mickey and Sylvia heard Jody Williams play a guitar riff that Williams had played on [[Billy Stewart]]'s debut single "Billy's Blues".<ref>{{AllMusic |class=artist|id=p21444|tab=biography|label=Jody William's Biography|first=Bill|last=Dahl|access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> "Billy's Blues" was released as a single in June 1956 .<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 16, 1956 |title=Reviews of New R&B Records |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=68 |issue= 24 |page=44 |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Ackerman |editor1-link=Paul Ackerman |access-date=March 4, 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQoEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Chess+1625%22&pg=PA44}}</ref> 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.<ref name="man">{{cite AV media notes |title=I'm a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955–1958 |others=[[Bo Diddley]] |year=2007 |type=CD liner |publisher=[[Hip-O Records|Hip-O Select]] |id=B0009231-02 |location=United States}}</ref> Mickey & Sylvia's version was recorded several months later on October 17, 1956.<ref name="RPM" /> A second Mickey & Sylvia studio recording, recorded some years after, featured now-legendary drummer [[Bernard Purdie|Bernard "Pretty" Purdie]] on his first paid session gig.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jazztimes.com/articles/65908-mickey-baker-a-tough-customer-who-never-lost-his-edge |title=Jazz Articles: Mickey Baker: A Tough Customer Who Never Lost His Edge - By Tom Reney — Jazz Articles |website=Jazztimes.com |access-date=2016-08-22}}</ref><ref>Bernard " Pretty " Purdie, Let The Drums Speak!,2014, page 55.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gershuny |first=Diane |url=http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/bernard-purdie-the-session-legend/ |title=Bernard Purdie: The Session Legend - DRUM! Magazine - Play Better Faster |date=January 16, 2013 |publisher=DRUM! Magazine |access-date=2016-08-22}}</ref>

== Charts and accolades ==
"Love Is Strange" peaked at #1 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine's most played by jockeys [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B Singles]] chart on March 6, 1957 and #11 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]].<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=artist|id=p13669|tab=charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} |title=Charts & Awards: Mickey & Sylvia – ''Billboard'' Singles |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[Rovi Corporation]] |location=United States |access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> In 2004 "Love Is Strange" was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]] for its influence as a [[rock and roll]] single.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame#l |title=Grammy Hall of Fame (Letter L) |work=[[Grammy Award|Grammys]] |publisher=[[National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences]] |location=United States |access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref>

== Cover versions ==
=== Full covers and adaptations ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Artist !! Chart(s) and peak !! Notes 
|-
| 1957 || [[Maddox Brothers and Rose]] || Billboard C&W #82 April 20, 1957  || Columbia 4-40895-c 45 Single<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/440895c|title=The Maddox Brothers And Rose - Love Is Strange|access-date=April 28, 2021|website=45cat.com}}</ref>
|-
| 1956 || [[Lonnie Donegan]] || UK album (#3) || Featured on ''The Golden Age of Donegan'' album. (Flipside of ''Cumberland Gap'')<ref>{{cite web|author=Dave Thompson |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-golden-age-of-donegan-mw0000852591 |title=The Golden Age of Donegan - Lonnie Donegan &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2016-08-22}}</ref>
|-
|1962
|[[Dale and Grace|Dale & Grace]]
|
|Featured on ''Presenting Dale and Grace''
|-
| 1964 || [[Betty Everett]] and [[Jerry Butler]] || US R'n'B (#42) || Single A-side for [[Vee-Jay Records]] (backed with "Smile"). 
|-
| 1964 || [[Sonny & Cher]] || [[Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles]] (#31)<ref>https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-12-04.pdf</ref> and [[ARIA Charts]] (#70)<ref>https://www.top100singles.net/2013/02/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1965.html</ref> ||  Credited to "[[Sonny Bono|Salvatore Bono]] & [[Cher|Cher La Piere]] (aka Caesar & Cleo)"<ref>https://www.45cat.com/record/0419au</ref>
|-
| 1965 || [[The Everly Brothers]] || UK chart (#11) || This rendition was released on their ''[[Beat & Soul]]'' album
|-
| 1967 || [[Peaches & Herb]] || ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#13) and R&B Singles (#16)  || This version features the spoken dialogue and the repeated phrases, similar to the Mickey and Sylvia version.<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=artist|id=p5116|tab=charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} |title=Charts & Awards: Peaches & Herb – ''Billboard'' Singles |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=Rovi Corporation |location=United States |access-date=March 4, 2011}}</ref> 
|-
| 1968 || [[Nancy Sinatra]] and [[Lee Hazlewood]]|| This version was recorded for the [["Nancy & Lee"]] album, but subsequently left off the record. It was included on the Light In The Attic Records expanded reissue in 2022.  || This version also includes two spoken word sections. Nancy is first, followed by Lee. When Nancy asks: "And if she still doesn't answer?" Lee replies: "You better get on in here or I'm gonna start without you!"
|-
| 1969 || [[Buddy Holly]] || [[Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles]] (#105) and ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' 100 (#76) || Recorded in 1959, this version of "Love Is Strange", featuring multiple instrumental overdubs, was released on the posthumous album ''[[Giant (Buddy Holly album)|Giant]]'' in 1969, a decade after Holly's death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5950&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3 |title=Top Singles – Volume 11, No. 13, May 26, 1969 |date=March 31, 2004 |work=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |format=PHP |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021172732/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5950&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3 |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> 
|-
| 1971 || [[Paul McCartney and Wings|Wings]] ||  ||  Featured on their debut album, [[Wild Life (Wings album)|Wild Life]], and was planned to be released as a single.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Madinger |first1=Chip |last2=Easter |first2=Mark |title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium |date=2000 |publisher=44.1 Productions |location=Chesterfield, Mo. |isbn=978-0615117249 |edition=1st}}</ref>
|-
| 1973 || [[Exuma (musician)|Exuma]] || || on the [[Life (Exuma album)|Life]] album.
|-
| 1975 || [[Buck Owens]] and [[Susan Raye]] || Broke the Top 20 country chart. ||
|-
| 1990 || [[Kenny Rogers]] and [[Dolly Parton]] || U.S. country singles chart (#21) <br> Australia [[ARIA Chart]] (#145)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bubblingdownunder.com/2021/11/week-commencing-5-november-1990.html|title=Bubbling Down Under 5 November 1990|website=www.bubblingdownunder.com|date= November 5, 2021|access-date=November 5, 2021}}</ref> || The cover was the title cut of Rogers' ''[[Love Is Strange (album)|Love Is Strange]]'' album, and was also released as a single
|-
| 1992 || [[Everything But The Girl]] || UK chart (#13) || Lead track on the ''Covers'' EP
|-
| 1996 || [[Lady Saw]] featuring Shaggy || || ''Passion'' LP
|-
| 2024 || Joe Vitullo and Tammy Jo || [https://open.spotify.com/album/3BPz08owOU1F08qCHqOPtO?si=-BKyudc_RKCoyDa_Kw4u9Q "Doo Rock" Album] || Track 7 on this 15 track album featuring Michael Cohen on guitar.
|}

===Samplings===
Part of the song was sampled for the 2012 [[Pitbull (rapper)|Pitbull]] hit "[[Back in Time (Pitbull song)|Back in Time]]" from ''[[Men In Black 3]]''.

==In popular culture==
The song was featured in the 1987 film ''[[Dirty Dancing]]'' and included on the [[Dirty Dancing (soundtrack)|soundtrack]], which is one of the [[List of best-selling albums|best-selling albums]] of all time.

The spoken part is parodied by [[Eric Bloom]] and [[Buck Dharma]] of [[Blue Öyster Cult]] in a live recording of "7 Screaming Diz-Busters" on their 1975 album ''[[On Your Feet or on Your Knees]]'':

<blockquote>
''Bloom:'' I know Lucifer so well I call him by his first name!<br/>
''Dharma:'' What do you call him?<br/>
''Bloom:'' I call him, hey Lu!<br/>
''Dharma:'' And if he don't answer?<br/>
''Bloom:'' I say, hey Lu... lover boy...
</blockquote>

The song is parodied in the 1973 [[New York Dolls]] song [[Trash (New York Dolls song)|"Trash"]], where singer [[David Johansen]] quotes "Oh how do you call your loverboy? ... Trash!" then later uses the same melody for several bars. 

The song is "covered" by the fictional Scottish band "The Majestics" in the BBC Television series [[Tutti Frutti (1987 TV series)|''Tutti Frutti'']] (1987), starring [[Emma Thompson]], [[Robbie Coltrane]], [[Maurice Roeves]], [[Jake D'Arcy]] and [[Stuart McGugan]]. 

The spoken part is referenced by Lou Reed at the end of his song "Beginning of A Great Adventure" on his 1989 album ''[[New York (album)|New York]]''. He had married Sylvia Morales in 1980.

The song appears also in the Dennis Potter 1993 TV [[miniseries]] ''Lipstick on Your Collar'' where Mickey and Sylvia become the two main characters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107423/reference|title=Lipstick on Your Collar (TV Mini-Series 1993) |website=IMDb.com|access-date=April 28, 2021}}</ref>

It also gained a following after appearing in ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' (1972). The song was also played in the [[Terrence Malick]] film ''[[Badlands (film)|Badlands]]'' (1973)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069762/?ref_=ttsnd_snd_tt|title=Badlands (1973)|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2016-08-22}}</ref> and in [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1995 film ''[[Casino (1995 film)|Casino]]'' when [[Robert De Niro]] sees [[Sharon Stone]] for the first time. The song also is played in the 2000 HBO hit show ''[[The Sopranos]]'', [[The Sopranos (season 2)|season two]], episode 6 ("[[The Happy Wanderer (The Sopranos)|The Happy Wanderer]]"). It can also be heard playing in [[The Detail (The Wire)|the second episode]] of ''[[The Wire]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2778190/|title=Mickey & Sylvia : Soundtrack|website=IMDb.com|access-date=2016-08-22}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Buddy Holly}}
{{The Everly Brothers}}
{{Buck Owens}}
{{Kenny Rogers}}
{{Dolly Parton songs}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1956 songs]]
[[Category:1956 singles]]
[[Category:1967 singles]]
[[Category:American rhythm and blues songs]]
[[Category:American rock-and-roll songs]]
[[Category:Mickey & Sylvia songs]]
[[Category:Buddy Holly songs]]
[[Category:Sonny & Cher songs]]
[[Category:Male–female vocal duets]]
[[Category:Buck Owens songs]]
[[Category:Susan Raye songs]]
[[Category:Kenny Rogers songs]]
[[Category:Dolly Parton songs]]
[[Category:Betty Everett songs]]
[[Category:Songs released posthumously]]
[[Category:Groove Records singles]]
[[Category:Reprise Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Sylvia Robinson]]
[[Category:Songs written by Bo Diddley]]
[[Category:The Crickets songs]]