All Of My Love

Album: Round Trip (1989)
Charted: 88
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "All Of My Love" didn't crack the Hot 100, but it was a #1 hit for The Gap Band, their first since 1982, when they topped that chart with "Early In The Morning" and "Outstanding."

    Their sound fell out of favor in the mid-'80s but was a big influence on the new jack swing beats were landing hits for the likes of Bobby Brown and Keith Sweat. They got into the action by embracing the new jack sound on "All Of My Love."
  • The song was written by the group's bass player Ronnie Wilson along with the songwriters Ray Calhoun and Aldyn St. John (AKA John Black). Calhoun, who played percussion for The Gap Band, had written their hit "Outstanding." He started writing "All Of My Love" in an effort to get a song on the band's Round Trip album. It started when he found inspiration in the studio.

    "I came up with a bassline and a drum track and then I told the guy who was engineering to put up a mike," he said in the Billboard Book Of #1 Hits. "I went in there and sang this little melody I had. That's all I had at first, so I went home and came back with next day with the lyrics to the first verse."

    The song ended up being pretty straightforward lyrically, with Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson pledging his love to a special lady.

    "All the songs Charlie's ever done for me, he's always done them right away," Calhoun added. "Real easy, real quick, boom. He didn't have to think about it. He was inspired - he loved the track and it just came to him."
  • The Gap Band went on hiatus following the Round Trip album, with Charlie Wilson launching a solo career. They returned with another album in 1994 and remained active until Robert Wilson, one of the three brothers in the band, died in 2010.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Alice Cooper

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.