"Love of the Common People" is a folk ballad written and composed by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and first released in January 1967 by The Four Preps.[1] It has been covered most successfully[1] by soul group The Winstons, reggae singer Nicky Thomas, country singer Waylon Jennings in 1967 and English white soul singer Paul Young. It was also a huge hit in Ireland for showband star Joe Dolan.
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The lyrics tell a bleak story of poverty and joblessness. There is a mention of "free food tickets," a reference to government food stamp and welfare programs, and the lyrics also describe the subject family as having holes in their clothes. Though Wilkins and Hurley did not expressly say so in the lyrics, the song is also a protest of what they saw as the failure of the American government to do more for the poor and unemployed than it already had.
Nicky Thomas recorded a Joe Gibbs-produced reggae version of the song in 1970, which sold over 175,000 copies in the United Kingdom and reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart.[2][3] It was Thomas's only major hit single, and, according to Steve Leggett of Allmusic, "practically defines the term 'pop reggae.'"[4]
| "Love of the Common People" | |||||||||||
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| Single by Paul Young | |||||||||||
| from the album No Parlez | |||||||||||
| B-side | "Behind Your Smile" "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" "It's Better to Have (And Don't Need)" |
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| Released | 1982 (Rerelease) 7 November 1983 | ||||||||||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl | ||||||||||
| Length | 3:33 5:50 (Extended Club Mix) |
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| Label | CBS | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins | ||||||||||
| Producer | Laurie Latham | ||||||||||
| Paul Young singles chronology | |||||||||||
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In 1982 Paul Young released his interpretation of "Love of the Common People" as a single, but it, initially, failed to chart. It was only when Young had his first hit in 1983 with "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" and the single was re-released that it became a big hit. The single peaked at #2 in the UK, and reached the number one spot in Ireland and the Netherlands. This version also contained a solo by influential ska and reggae trombonist Rico Rodriguez. On Stiff Little Fingers's re-mastered Now Then... album, there is an interview with Jake Burns where he re-calls Paul Young met Stiff Little Fingers at one of their concerts in Dunstable in support of the album in which Young asked Burns whether Stiff Little Fingers were planning to release the song as a single. When Burns told them they weren't, Young asked if they minded him releasing it as a single. They said he could, not thinking the single would do well. Burns then says jokingly in the interview, "Pfft! Go ahead. You'll never get anywhere with that, mate. Yeah, number 2, that'll teach me!"
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[5] | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart[6] | 1 |
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
| Austrian Singles Chart [7] | 3 |
| Dutch GfK chart[8] | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[9] | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[10] | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 45 |
| Preceded by "Love Me Just a Little Bit More (Totally Hooked on You)" by Dolly Dots |
Dutch Top 40 number one single 28 January 1984 – 18 February 1984 |
Succeeded by "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen |
| Preceded by "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel |
Irish Top 40 number one single 3 December 1983 – 10 December 1983 |
Succeeded by "Only You" by The Flying Pickets |
The song was recorded by many artists, including Waylon Jennings on his album of the same name (1967), Pat Boone on Look Ahead (1968), Lynn Anderson on Promises, Promises (1968), Leonard Nimoy on Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (1968), John Denver on Rhymes & Reasons (1969), The Everly Brothers, Joe Dolan, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen (Live in Dublin, 2007) and Stiff Little Fingers on Now Then... (1982), The Winstons (1969) peaking at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, Joe Strummer & the Latino Rockabilly War (Live in Edinburgh, 1988).