Love Will Keep Us Together#Captain & Tennille version
{{Short description|1973 song by Neil Sedaka}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Love Will Keep Us Together
| type = song
| artist = Neil Sedaka
| album = The Tra-La Days Are Over
| cover =
| alt =
| released = 1973
| recorded = Spring 1973
| venue =
| studio = Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England
| genre = Pop
| length =
| label = MGM
| producer = Neil Sedaka, 10cc
| misc = {{External music video |type=song |header=Audio video |{{YouTube|F469wq2OupU|"Love Will Keep Us Together"}}}}
}}
"Love Will Keep Us Together" is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka in 1973. The brother-sister duo Mac and Katie Kissoon also recorded a version in 1973. American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered it in 1975; their version became a worldwide hit.{{cite book |first=Kent |last=Hartman |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312619749/page/261 261–263] |year=2012 |title=The Wrecking Crew |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312619749 |url-access=registration |publisher=St. Martin’s Griffin |isbn=978-1-250-03046-7}}
Composition
Sedaka admitted lifting the main chord progression from "Do It Again" by The Beach Boys and added a progression including augmented chords inspired by Al Green. The melody was written with Diana Ross in mind.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG9OwcH3_sE Neil Sedaka's mini-concert, September 1, 2020] from Sedaka's official YouTube account{{cite web |title=Neil Sedaka Talks With Paul Shaffer About Love Will Keep Us Together And Captain & Tennille |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTw9yGphAxg |website=YouTube | date=28 April 2020 |access-date=6 November 2022}} Greenfield wrote the lyrics as one of the two final collaborations with Sedaka (they had decided reluctantly to break off their partnership because their songs were no longer commercially viable) along with "Our Last Song Together," before Greenfield moved to Los Angeles with his companion Tory Damon.{{YouTube|id=gm-BXeRNp4Y|Today's Mini-Concert - 9/8/20}} from Sedaka's official YouTube channel
Background
"Love Will Keep Us Together" first appeared on Neil Sedaka's 1973 studio album The Tra-La Days Are Over, which did not have a US release.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-tra-la-days-are-over-overnight-success-mw0002326863|title=The Tra-La Days Are Over/Overnight Success - Neil Sedaka | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}} His version of the song made its US album debut on the 1974 compilation album Sedaka's Back. In West Germany, Sedaka's original song was also included as the B side of his 1976 hit, "Love in the Shadows".{{Cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/2058722|title=Neil Sedaka - Love In The Shadows|via=www.45cat.com}}
In 2009, Neil Sedaka rerecorded a spoof of his song, renaming it "Lunch Will Keep Us Together" for his first children's CD Waking Up Is Hard to Do.{{cite web|url=http://www.tower.com/waking-up-is-hard-do-neil-sedaka-cd/wapi/112989756|title=Music: Waking Up Is Hard to Do (CD) by Neil Sedaka|work=Tower.com}}
Personnel
{{small|Source:{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-tra-la-days-are-over-overnight-success-mw0002326863/credits | title=The Tra-La Days Are Over/Overnight Success - Neil Sedaka | Credits | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}}}
- Neil Sedaka – vocals, piano, organ, electric piano
- Lol Creme – vocals, guitar
- Eric Stewart – vocals, guitar, recording engineer
- Graham Gouldman – vocals, bass, guitar
- Kevin Godley – vocals, drums, percussion
Mac and Katie Kissoon version
"Love Will Keep Us Together" had its first single release via a UK recording by the brother-and-sister vocal duo Mac and Katie Kissoon on September 28, 1973, but it failed to chart. This version also failed to chart in its US release in February 1974, but it did become the first hit version of "Love Will Keep Us Together" by virtue of charting in the Netherlands in the autumn of 1973, peaking at number 12 that December.
Captain & Tennille version
{{Infobox song
| name = Love Will Keep Us Together
| cover = S140943.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Captain & Tennille
| album = Love Will Keep Us Together
| B-side = Gentle Stranger
| released = April 1975
| recorded = 1975
| studio =
| genre = Soft rock{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/cruel-love-songs/|title=14 Secretly Cruel Soft Rock Love Songs|last=Kuge|first=Mara|date=7 February 2019|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=24}}
| label = A&M
| writer = Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield
| producer = Daryl Dragon
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = The Way I Want to Touch You
| next_year = 1975
| misc = {{External music video |header=Audio video |{{YouTube|5m3q7M5zFwM|"Love Will Keep Us Together"}}}}
}}
"Love Will Keep Us Together" was the title cut and lead single of Captain & Tennille's debut album, although "Captain" Daryl Dragon originally hoped that honor would go to the duo's rendition of "I Write the Songs". The single rose to number one on both the Billboard Easy Listening chart{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=45}} and the Billboard pop chart, staying atop the latter for four weeks starting June 21, 1975. It also hit the top of the 1975 year-end chart. In the US, it was the best-selling single of 1975.Hyatt, Wesley. The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits, Billboard Books, 1999, p. 166. "Love Will Keep Us Together" was certified gold by the RIAA{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=captain+%26+tennille&ti=love+will+keep+us+together&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section |title=Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep Us Together - RIAA Gold Certification |publisher=RIAA |date=July 1, 1975 |access-date=March 4, 2019 }} and also won the Grammy Award (1975) for Record of the Year on February 28, 1976.{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/18th-annual-grammy-awards |title=Winners - 18th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1975) |publisher=The Recording Academy |year=1975 |access-date=March 20, 2019 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/videos/captain-tennille-win-record-year |title=Captain & Tennille Win Record Of The Year |publisher=The Recording Academy |date=February 28, 1976 |access-date=March 20, 2019 }}
Record World said the song "is a solid choice of material for the label to propel this duo into Carpenter-ish acceptance."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=March 8, 1975|access-date=2023-03-10|title=Single Picks|page=26|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/75/RW-1975-03-08.pdf}} "Captain" Daryl Dragon played all the instruments on this version, with the exception of drums played by Hal Blaine.
Dragon and Tennille acknowledged Sedaka's authorship—as well as his mid-1970s comeback—by working the phrase "Sedaka is back" into the song's fadeout, where the applause from the studio musicians can be heard. Their version earned Sedaka and Greenfield a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Twenty years later in 1995, the duo re-recorded the song for their Twenty Years of Romance CD.
="Por Amor Viviremos" (Spanish version)=
While "Love Will Keep Us Together" was topping the charts in the summer of 1975, Captain & Tennille released a Spanish version of the song, "Por Amor Viviremos", which rose to number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving Captain & Tennille a rare feat of the identical song, in different languages and released as separate singles (rather than the A-side and B-side of one single), appearing simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100. Chicago radio station WLS AM 890 used the two versions to create a Spanglish version of the song for their own broadcasting use.
"Por Amor Viviremos" later appeared on their May 1976 album Por Amor Viviremos, a Spanish track-for-track rerecording of their album Love Will Keep Us Together. It also appears on the 2002 Hip-O Records compilation album Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits.
=Personnel=
- Toni Tennille – lead and backing vocals
- Daryl Dragon – piano, electric piano, synthesizers, clavinet, bass, arrangement
- Hal Blaine – drums{{cite web |url=https://pas.org/hal-blaine-2/ |title=Hal Blaine |publisher=Percussive Arts Society |access-date=January 12, 2025}}
=Chart performance=
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
==Weekly charts==
{{col-2}}
==Year-end charts==
==All-time charts==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1958-2018)
! Position |
|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=10 December 2018}}
| style="text-align:center;"|259 |
{{col-end}}
Other notable versions
- Wilson Pickett recorded "Love Will Keep Us Together" for his 1976 studio album release Chocolate Mountain from which it was issued as a single. It reached number 69 on the Billboard R&B chart.{{cn|date=January 2022}}
- In 1978, the song was covered by Timothy Dalton and Mae West in West's final movie Sextette.
- In 1979, Ginger Rogers sang this song in an episode of The Love Boat{{cn|date=February 2025}}
- In 1980, Joy Division released "Love Will Tear Us Apart", the title of which "was intended as an ironic nod to the classic '70s pop song."{{cite web |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/single-stories-joy-division-love-will-tear-us-apart |title= Single Stories: Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" |publisher=Rhino Records |access-date=February 24, 2020 }}
- In 1982, the song featured heavily in Troma comedy Stuck on You!, performed by the band Junk Rock.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
- In 1992, Mexican trio Pandora released a cover version titled "Pierdo el Control" on their album Ilegal.
- In 2001, the film Get Over It featured a dance to this song at the beginning by some of the cast.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Captain & Tennille}}
{{Neil Sedaka}}
{{Grammy Award for Record of the Year}}
{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960–1979}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Neil Sedaka
Category:Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield
Category:Captain & Tennille songs
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles