Glory of Love

"Glory of Love"
Single by Peter Cetera
from the album Solitude/Solitaire
B-side	"On the Line"
Released	June 1986
Format	7" single
Recorded	1986
Genre	Pop rock soft rock[1] adult contemporary
Length	4:20
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Peter Cetera, David Foster and Diane Nini
Producer(s)	Michael Omartian
Peter Cetera singles chronology
"Livin' in the Limelight" (1982) "Glory of Love" (1986) "The Next Time I Fall" (1986)
"Livin' in the Limelight" (1982) "Glory of Love" (1986) "The Next Time I Fall" (1986)

"Glory of Love" is a 1986 song by Peter Cetera written and composed by Cetera, David Foster, and Cetera's then-wife Diane Nini, and recorded by Cetera shortly after he left the band Chicago to pursue a solo career. Featured in the 1986 film The Karate Kid Part II, it was Cetera's first hit single after he left the team, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100,^[2] and it was included on his 1986 album, Solitude/Solitaire, which Michael Omartian produced.^[3] (Cetera released this album to coincide with the theatrical release of The Karate Kid Part II.)

According to Cetera, he originally wrote and composed "Glory of Love" as the end title for the 1985 film Rocky IV, but was passed over by United Artists, and instead it was used as the theme for The Karate Kid Part II.^[4][5]

"Glory of Love" peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 2, 1986, remaining in that spot for two weeks. It also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart.^[6] The song achieved similar success in the UK, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart,^[7] where it was the 26th best-selling single of 1986.

The version released as a single and featured on Cetera's album Solitude/Solitaire is edited, missing the beginning eight-second section of the song's bridge which is heard in The Karate Kid Part II. He performed a shortened version of the song live at the 59th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on Monday, March 30, 1987 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.^[8][9]

Awards

The song earned nominations in 1986 for an Academy Award for Best Original Song,^[9] and a Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Song.^[10] It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1987 for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male Artist.^[11]

It went on to win an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Songs from a Motion Picture^[12] and a BMI Film & TV Award for Most Performed Song from a Film.^[13]

Music video

The music video by Peter Cetera is set in a Japanese martial arts dojo, with cut and fade scenes of the movie The Karate Kid Part II throughout.^[14][15] The video was directed by Peter Sinclair.^[16]

Personnel

• Peter Cetera: vocals
• Dann Huff: electric guitars
• Paul Leim: drums
• Michael Omartian: keyboards
• Willie Alexander: Fairlight programming
• Steve Azbill: PPG Wave Term synthesizer programming
• Erich Bulling: synthesizers, drum programming

Cover versions

• The song was covered by New Found Glory on their 2000 album From the Screen to Your Stereo.
• A cover was also performed by Jessa Zaragoza and Dingdong Avanzado on Zaragoza's 2000 album Ibigay Mo Na.
• Australian boy band North covered the song, which was released as their first single from their 2004 self-titled debut album, reaching number one on the Asian music charts.
• Japanese pop artist Melody included the song on her third album Ready to Go! which she released in 2007.
• Venezuelan pop vocal band Voz Veis included an a cappella version of the song on their live acoustic album Una Noche Común y Sin Corriente (2009). In this cover, the lyrics were shortened from the original.
• In 2010, Canadian artist Zameer released an acoustic version of the song on his album From Under the Bleachers. The single reached #73 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in Canada.^[17]
• In 2011, the song was parodied by The Fringemunks as part of a medley that recapped Fringe episode 3.21, "The Last Sam Weiss."^[18]
• In 2011, Canadian artist Karl Wolf greatly sampled on the song in his released single "Ghetto Love" featuring Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. The single was released in Canada on Universal Republic.

References in other media

• In one episode of the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch "Jarret's Room", DJ Johnathan Feinstein (played by Seth Meyers), plays a sample of "Glory of Love" to open for each walk-on character. He admits that The Karate Kid Part II soundtrack was the only music he had since he had to pack up his dorm to move out of the residence halls.

45 rpm single

The song "On the Line," which was on the B-side of the 45 rpm single,^[19][20] was from Cetera's eponymously named first solo album, Peter Cetera, which had been released in 1981.

The single came out at a time when sales of 45-rpm vinyl records were in rapid decline. One record company executive estimated that sales of the "Glory of Love" single was down by a over quarter of a million units compared to what it might have been a few years earlier.^[21]

"Glory of Love" made its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.A. at number 62, for the week ending on June 7, 1986,^[22][23] and debuted at number 59 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart that same date.^[24] In the same issue, Cash Box also shows the single as a new release.^[25]

Charts

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics