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Friday, December 12, 2014

"Love or Let Me Be Lonely" by Paul Davis

Song#:  1107
Date:  07/17/1982
Debut:  78
Peak:  40
Weeks:  10
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Davis was at a career peak with his first album for the Arista label, "Cool Night," spawning the #11 title track and the #6 "'65 Love Affair." He would grab a third Top 40 song with this single (#11 AC), but it all was not that wonderful to Davis. The Arista machine (headed by Clive Davis) turned Davis into a reluctant pop star and it soured him so much that he basically stepped away from the music business. He would return to guest on a pair of #1 country singles and write tunes for other artists, like Dan Seals' 1986 #1 country smash "Bop" (#42 pop) , but Davis sat out on pursuing his own solo career. He finally got back in the studio in 2008, but he died of a heart attack soon after he had recorded two new songs.

ReduxReview:  The original is a terrific song (see below), but there is something about this arrangement that I just don't like. It sounds really forced (probably was - see above) and very rigid. I think Davis tries his best to liven up the song but overall it just doesn't work. I'd stick with the original.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  This song is a remake of a 1970 hit by The Friends of Distinction. Their original reached #6 on the pop chart while hitting #9 at AC and #13 R&B. It was the quartet's second Top 10 hit. Their first was a vocal version of Hugh Masekela's instrumental hit "Grazing in the Grass," which reached #1 in 1968. The Friends' single reached #3 the following year.

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