Love Is a Beautiful Thing

Album: Your Heart's in Good Hands (1994)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was originally recorded by the duo Charles & Eddie, who released the song on their 1992 debut album Duophonic, which contained the hit "Would I Lie To You." Al Green recorded the most popular version of the song in 1994 with Arthur Baker producing. His version was used in the movies Two Weeks Notice (2002), Sorority Boys (2002), and The Pallbearer (1996). Krystal Harris recorded the song for the 2000 movie Legally Blond (2000).
  • This was written by Seth Swirsky, who wrote the song "on a gorgeous downtown New York City afternoon in the May of 1991." As a staff songwriter at Chappell Music, Swirsky also wrote Taylor Dayne's hits "Tell It To My Heart" and "Prove Your Love." In the '90s, he wrote letters to many legendary baseball players, who often wrote him back. These handwritten letters provided material for his books Baseball Letters, Every Pitcher Tells a Story, and Something to Write Home About.

    Seth says of this song: "Al's version is my favorite. A real thrill for me is at the end of the song when Al sings the titles of all of his greatest hits over the music. He sings: 'Let's Stay Together cause I'm Still in Love With You. Call Me, For the Good Times and Tired of Being Alone.' To hear him sing those songs at the end of 'Love is a Beautiful Thing' is a was one of the biggest honors I've had as a songwriter."
  • After Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, Tina Turner recorded this song as part of the tribute album Diana, Princess of Wales, which contains 36 songs, including cuts by Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting and the Bee Gees.
  • In 2004, this was featured in commercials for the cosmetics company Almay.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Cy Curnin of The Fixx

Cy Curnin of The FixxSongwriter Interviews

The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

Black Sabbath

Black SabbathFact or Fiction

Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.