An Old Fashioned Love Song
| "An Old Fashioned Love Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Three Dog Night | ||||
| from the album Harmony | ||||
| B-side | "Jam" | |||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Format | 7" (45 rpm) | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | Dunhill | |||
| Writer(s) | Paul Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Richard Podolor | |||
| Three Dog Night singles chronology | ||||
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"An Old Fashioned Love Song" is a 1971 song by the American pop-rock band Three Dog Night. Chuck Negron performed the lead vocal on this track. Taken as the lead single from their 1971 album, Harmony, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1971, becoming the band's seventh top-ten hit.[1] It was Three Dog Night's first record to top the U.S. easy listening chart.[2] "An Old Fashioned Love Song" was written by the noted songwriter Paul Williams. Its lyrics suggest the straightforward and melodic nature of the tune: Just an old fashioned love song / Comin' down in three part harmony / Just an old fashioned love song / One I'm sure they wrote for you and me.
According to the Karen Carpenter biography Little Girl Blue by Randy L. Schmidt, Williams originally intended the song for The Carpenters, who were in the middle of a string of hits with their own brand of "old fashioned love songs," including two of Williams' own compositions, "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays." Although this was the first song Williams had written specifically for the Carpenters, Richard Carpenter rejected it, and so Williams offered the song to Three Dog Night. The Carpenters never recorded the song, but did perform it live on television with Carol Burnett a few months later. [3]
Paul Williams version
| "An Old Fashioned Love Song" | |
|---|---|
| File:Old Fash single.jpg | |
| Single by Paul Williams | |
| from the album Just an Old Fashioned Love Song | |
| Released | 1971 |
| Format | 7" (45 rpm) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Writer(s) | Paul Williams |
The song's composer Paul Williams recorded his own version of the song he had written, which was included on his 1971 album Just an Old Fashioned Love Song. Williams later performed the song when he appeared on The Muppet Show in 1976. He also sang a portion of the song for an episode of The Odd Couple TV series in 1974.
Other versions
- Country music singer Jerri Ross released a cover version of the song in 1972. Her rendition of the song reached number 58 on the Billboard country singles chart.[2]
- Andy Williams released a version in 1972 on his album, Love Theme from "The Godfather".
- The song was also sampled in the 1999 hip-hop song "Once Again (Here to Kick One for You)" by Handsome Boy Modeling School featuring Grand Puba and Sadat X.
See also
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications)
- ↑ Schmidt, Randy L. Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter. Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2010, p. 76.
