Welcome everyone to another edition of Top Five Fridays! Valentine’s Day has come and gone and even as a single guy, you can’t help but enjoy a good love song every now and again.
I could go with a lot of the old standards (Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Celine Dion, etc.), but that’s not how I roll. I’ll give you some tried and true classics, but I’ve also got a couple of wild cards that you might not really think about as love songs.
Without further ado, let’s get to the countdown!
5. Sheila Nicholls – Fallen for You
The biggest reason why this is even a thing is because of the movie High Fidelity. It makes an appearance in the film at an interesting point in the movie as Rob is currently mulling over his future with his significant other.
After watching it for the first time, I had to find out what this song was. It’s a basic love song, but it works and has a place in my heart because of what movie it was featured in.
4. Foo Fighters – Everlong
Hear me out on this one. If you know about the story of this song, it makes sense as to why I’m including it as a love song. He had just been divorced, was homeless, and the Foo Fighters were on the verge of breaking up. Imagine if the group broke up before they really took off?
Dave Grohl poured his heart and soul out onto this song in 45 minutes with the hopes that this would turn things around. Thankfully for all of us, this song took them over the top and it is more of a love song than you really think.
3. Otis Redding – I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)
This is probably on a lot of people’s lists, but it’s a big reason why I love Otis Redding’s music. He sang from the soul in every last one of his songs and this on may be one of the best out of a handful of love songs he sang before his untimely passing in 1967.
2. State Champs – If I’m Lucky
One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed State Champs is because each of their songs has a message when you truly listen and understand it. When you first hear it, it really doesn’t sound like a conventional love song because it begins with a line seemingly about being unfaithful.
However, by the end of the song, he’s started to change his opinions on love and has feelings for that special someone in his life. It fits well with the times and how sometimes love isn’t necessarily cut and dry.
1. Stevie Wonder – I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
I’ll challenge you to find another artist that can write as many great love songs as he did. Sure his later career had some question marks (is it better to burn out than to fade away?), but this is his magnum opus off of the Talking Book album.
A number of weeks ago, I did a top five list about Side Ones, Track Ones and how important it is to come out of the gates with a good track. It’s just as important to end on a strong note and that’s what this track does. It also gets bonus points for the breakdown at the end of the track. You can debate it with me all day long, but “I Just Called to Say I Love You” isn’t the best love song Stevie Wonder did.
