By CAROL PERKINS
EDMONTON — I am going to design a shirt that says, “I Love Love Songs.” I’ll have a heart, of course, instead of love; just like the other I love shirts. Valentine’s Day will bring out a repertoire of love songs dating back to pre WWII. Somewhere in a lounge, a crooner will be singing, “Embraceable You” or “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Those of us with parents of that era will almost certainly know these songs.
For myself on Valentine’s Day, I am gong to download my all-time favorite love songs and make a copy for my children. By then a CD will be as obsolete as an eight track tape!
From the 1930s, I will download, “I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star.” This was one of the first songs I sang to my grandson when I rocked him endlessly his first few days. Not that he needed rocking, but I needed to rock. There is nothing remarkable about this song except the tune, but I love it.
“Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?” is one of the best! Published in 1945, this song has been recorded by Elvis, Marty Robbins, and a host of others, but it was Rod Stewart who renewed its popularity. It was even sung at the funeral of one of my distant cousins.
The ’50s had so many love songs, but I am going with “Young Love” by Sonny James. “They say for every boy and girl, there’s just one love and this old world and I know, I, I, I’ve found mine.” So many couples used this as “their” song, so I vote this the best love song of the fifties.
The Letterman didn’t record this first, but it is the version I have held on to for all these years. “When I Fall In Love” is like no other. I may count this as my all-time favorite, with Elvis’ “I Can’t Help Falling In Love” ‘50s coming in second.
The ‘70’s brought Percy Sledges’ hit that later would become synonymous with Michael Bolton, “When A Man Loves A Woman.” However, it was “Annie’s Song” by John Denver that would be my favorite (and a favorite of wedding planners). Written for his wife, John captured what women want to hear, “Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms”
His wife would later divorce him, but we fans always knew she was his only love.
Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love” left other love songs of that year in the dust as far as a man loving a woman or vice versa. Kenny Rogers’ “Lady” was also a chart topper, but the one that probably caused the greatest emotion was Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Although not exactly a love song between a man and woman, it was a love song nonetheless. Speeches, essays, sermons, funerals, and hundreds of other situations have used this song for inspiration. It must be at the top of the list for the ‘80s; it still makes me melancholy.
The ’90s brought “Titanic” and Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” Every teenage girl swooned to this song, as did some adults. Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven,” written about his small son who fell to his death from a hotel window was also one of the saddest love songs of this decade. Whitney Houston’s rendition of Dolly’s “I Will Always Love You” became another wedding favorite, but the greatest love song of the ‘90s, in my opinion, was George Strait’s, “I Cross My Heart.” Perhaps because we fans loved the movie “Pure Country,” the song became an instant hit with us. “You’ll never find a love as pure as mine.”
This decade has left me perplexed. Bon Jovi’s “You Had Me From Hello” is a good one and “Keep Holding on” by Avril Lavigne is also a favorite. Many young people are blown away with Taylor Swift’s ballads. However, during the last 10 years, I have been in a cave. I don’t have a favorite.
Love songs like “You Light Up My Life” by Debbie Boone, or “Old Flame,” by Alabama, cross all generational barriers. We can think of dozens like these that take us back to a certain place and a special time where we “flicked our bics.”
Guy asked me not long ago why I didn’t write a song. He didn’t quite understand the difference between writing a story and writing a song. A song writer, like a poet, only has a few lines to capture a moment. A remarkable song is one that, at any given moment, becomes a tune in your head or a hum in your throat or a song from your lips. Thank goodness we have prolific song writers to keep love alive. I wish I could be one of them.
