SerpApi.Org
Todd Rundgren wrote a soft rock track in 1977 with his band Utopia titled "Love is the Answer," but it didn't reach the charts until it was reimagined in 1979 by the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley.
Released as part of their Oops! Wrong Planet album, the track wasn't released as a single and never entered the charts. At the time it was released, Rundgren and the band were simply looking for a track to add to their album. They felt it needed a hopeful song compared to other tracks like "Trapped," "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell," and "The Martyr."
"Well it's funny. We were doing an album at the time, and usually we try and be collaborative when we write the songs, because we had made an agreement that we would share the publishing on all of our songs so that specific writers don't get the credit. But that was a song that I came up with," explained Rundgren to SongFacts.
"We put it on a bummer album like Oops! Wrong Planet, thinking maybe we need to put something a little hopeful on it."
While not a hit for Utopia, the track still holds meaning to Rundgren, as he performed the track every night while touring with Ringo Starr's "All Starr Band" in 2015. While on tour, Ringo had a "three-hit rule" for his guests, with Todd going with "I Saw the Light," "Bang the Drum All Day," and "Hello It's Me." The last track Ringo realized didn't fit, and Rundgren convinced him to include "Love Is the Answer" despite it not having been a hit.
"Ringo has his 'three hit rule,' And I'm taking advantage of a technicality in that "Love Is The Answer" was a hit, but it wasn't a hit for me or Utopia, it was a hit for England Dan & John Ford Coley," he explained.
Two years after the track was released, England Dan & John Ford Coley released their own version as their lead single from their seventh studio album, Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive. Their version would become the most popular among fans and cemented itself as a love anthem.
"Love is the Answer" by the soft rock duo landed them at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also led them to top the Adult Contemporary chart at No. 1 for two weeks. Dan Seals would revisit the track in 1995 and release an acoustic country version, and Coley also released his version in 2008.
"Of all the songs we released as singles, that was my favorite. The song first of all had a classical base, and the middle had a gospel section which I loved," said Coley.
Related: 1970 Soft Rock Hit, With Over 200 Covers, Remains a Classic Ballad 56 Years Later
