River of Love

Album: The Turning (1987)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is credited to both Sam Phillips and T Bone Burnett (the two had a successful business partnership and a marriage that lasted from 1989-2004). It was written for T Bone's own self-titled album, but Sam fell in love with the romantic ballad when she heard it being recorded at the studio. In a Songfacts interview with Phillips, she recalled: "I just thought that was an amazing song, and I wanted a lot of people to cover it, so I felt the least I could do was put it on my record that we were making at the time. That was when we first started to work together. He played guitar on that version that I did and I sang it."
  • The Turning, produced by T Bone Burnett, would be the final album by Christian music artist Leslie Phillips before she reinvented herself as Sam Phillips for mainstream audiences. She told Magnet Magazine: "T Bone and I just did an honest record and it caused quite a stir. And after that I left."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.