| j i m v a l l a n c e > d i s c o g r a p h y > s o n g s | |||||||||||||
| What About Love? | |||||||||||||
| Recording Artist: | Toronto | ||||||||||||
| Buy This Song: | |||||||||||||
| Writers: | Jim Vallance Brian Allen Sheron Alton |
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| Date Written: | March 1982 | ||||||||||||
| Albums: | The Greatest Hits (2002) | ||||||||||||
| Audio: | |||||||||||||
Holly Woods: vocal Sheron Alton: lead guitar, backing vocal Brian Allen: guitar Scott Kryer: keyboards Gary Lalonde: bass Jim Vallance: drums |
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Produced by Steve Smith. Recorded by Jim Frank at Eastern Sound, Toronto. |
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| Cover Versions: | Also recorded by "Heart". |
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| Comments: |
Steve Smith had been a staff producer with Island Records, working with artists like Jim Capaldi, Toots and The Maytalls, Robert Palmer and Bob Marley. I've always been a fan of producers who do their own arranging -- like George Martin and Mutt Lange -- but Steve wasn't that kind of producer, so I basically served as his arranger and production assistant on the project. For the songwriting portion I paired up with band members Brian Allen and Scott Kreyer. I also collaborated with Brian and the other guitarist in the band, Sheron Alton. |
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Brian and Sheron had a small studio in their basement. One night after
dinner the three of us wrote a ballad based on a title I had ... "What
About Love". It took two or
three hours to complete the song, each of us contributing equal portions
of music and lyric. I came away thinking we'd really "clicked" as
a songwriting team. A few weeks later "Toronto" went in the studio and recorded 14 or 15 songs for their "Get It On Credit" album, including "What About Love". I thought Toronto's drummer (Barry Connors) was an excellent player, but the band asked me to play drums on "What About Love". Maybe I jinxed it, because when it came time for the record company to choose 12 songs for the finished album, "What About Love" didn't make the cut! I actually forgot about the song until three years later when I got a call from my friend Don Grierson at Capitol Records in Los Angeles. He was thrilled to tell me that "Heart" had just recorded "What About Love" -- and it was going to be the first single from their upcoming album. |
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"What About Love" caught his ear, and he sent a copy to Don Grierson, who in turn played the song for Heart. Heart's version of "What About Love" became a top-ten hit in the US and Canada, selling about 15-million copies world-wide. Beter late than never, Solid Gold Records included the original "Toronto" version of "What About Love" on the October 2002 release "Toronto: The Greatest Hits". |
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| Postscript: | I was so impressed with Michael McCarty's efforts at getting my song to
Heart, that when my 20-year contract with Rondor Music Publishing expired
in 2000 I immediately made plans to sign with Michael (who is now President of EMI
Music Canada). |
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| Lyrics: | I've been
lonely I've been waiting for you I'm pretending and that's all I can do The love I'm sending Ain't making it through to your heart You've been hiding - never letting it show Always trying to keep it under control You got it down and you're well On the way to the top But there's something that you forgot What about love Don't you want someone to care about you What about love Don't let it slip away What about love I only want to share it with you You might need it some day I can't tell you what you're feeling inside I can't sell you what you don't want to buy Something's missing and you got to Look back on your life You know something here just ain't right What about love Don't you want someone to care about you What about love Don't let it slip away What about love I only want to share it with you Solo What about love Don't you want someone to care about you What about love Don't let it slip away What about love I only want to share it with you |
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