What About Love

1985 single by Heart
"What About Love"
Single by Heart
from the album Heart
B-side"Heart of Darkness"
Written1982
ReleasedMay 1985[1]
Genre
  • Hard rock
Length3:41
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
  • Brian Allen
  • Sheron Alton
  • Jim Vallance
Producer(s)Ron Nevison
Heart singles chronology
"Allies"
(1983) 		"What About Love"
(1985) 		"Never"
(1985)
Music video
"What About Love" on YouTube

"What About Love" is a song originally recorded by Canadian rock band Toronto in 1982. It was later recorded by American rock band Heart in 1985 and was released as the first single from the band's self-titled album, Heart. The band's "comeback" single, it was the first Heart track to reach the top 40 in three years, and their first top 10 hit in five. The song was also their first hit single on their new record label, Capitol Records. Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas, co-lead vocalists of Starship at the time, provide additional background vocals on the song.

Background

The song was originally recorded in 1982 by Canadian rock group Toronto, of which songwriters Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were members. (The other songwriter, Jim Vallance, was not a member of Toronto, though he played drums on Toronto's recording of the song.) However, the rest of the band elected not to release the song, and the frustration Allen and Alton faced in being unable to convince their bandmates to feature this and other material on Toronto's albums led to their departure from the group.

Later, Michael McCarty at ATV Music Publishing was reviewing his song catalogue when he came across "What About Love". He offered the song to Heart, who turned it into a worldwide hit. Toronto's original version remained commercially unreleased until 2002, when it appeared as a bonus cut on the CDs Get It on Credit and Toronto: The Greatest Hits.

Reception

The song's sound marked a considerable change in the musical direction for Heart, moving from the hard rock and folk rock of their earlier work to a more polished, power ballad sound. "What About Love" received extensive airplay on MTV and returned Heart to the top-10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in five years, peaking at No. 10.

The song peaked at No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart upon its re-release in 1988. Exclusively in its UK release, "What About Love" was also featured in an extended version on 12" and CD single versions.

Cash Box said of the single that it "retains the punch of [Heart's] hard rock tinged mid-’70s successes with a new vocal and melodic pliability," also saying that it has "less emphasis on guitar solos and more songwriting focus."[2]

The song's chorus was featured in a series of Swiffer WetJet TV commercials from late 2010 into the following year. The campaign followed a series of previous Swiffer commercials using popular songs of the 1970s and 1980s.

Personnel

Heart

Additional musicians

  • Peter Wolf – synthesizers
  • Mickey Thomas – background vocals
  • Grace Slick – background vocals
  • Lynn Wilson – background vocals
  • Holly Knight – keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1985–1986) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 28
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 8
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[5] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 10
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[7] 3
US Cash Box Top 100[8] 17
West Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 43
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[10] 49
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 14
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Canadian Digital Songs (Billboard)[13] 37

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[14] 75
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 87
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 25

Cover versions and samples

  • Mari Hamada covered the song in her 1985 album Blue Revolution.
  • On the compilation album of the 2006 season of American Idol, the song was performed by finalist Melissa McGhee.[17] Janell Wheeler performed the song in Season 9 of the series. Season 11 Erika Van Pelt sang the song in the top 12 Girls night. In Season 12, Amber Holcomb sang it during the Top 7's Rock week.
  • Rick Ross samples "What About Love" in his song "Shot to the Heart."
  • Lil Wayne samples "What About Love" in his song "Something You Forgot."
  • On the TV show Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, finalist Chrystina performs this song in the series finale, which eventually leads to her making the final group.
  • Rytmus samples "What About Love" in his song "Na Toto Som Cakal."
  • Kelly Clarkson covered the song during as part of her 2012 Stronger Tour, performing the song during a Boston, Massachusetts appearance.
  • Andy Lau once covered this song in Cantonese language, titled 永遠愛你 (Forever Loving You) which was taken on his second solo album (情感的禁區/Forbidden Emotional)
  • Demi Lovato performed "What About Love" while dressed as the Anonymouse on the 10th season premiere of The Masked Singer in 2023.

References

  1. ^ "HEART". Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
  2. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. June 1, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 136. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0568." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7820." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "Heart Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  7. ^ "Heart Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending August 31, 1985". Cash Box. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Heart – What About Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 23. June 4, 1988. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved October 2, 2019 – via American Radio History.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – What About Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  12. ^ "Heart: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  13. ^ "Heart Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. December 28, 1985. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved October 2, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  15. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1985". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Mainstream Rock Songs – Year-End 1985". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "American Idol Season 5: Encores – American Idol Finalists – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Heart
Studio albumsLive albumsCompilation albums
Singles
Related articles
  • Category
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group
  • MusicBrainz work