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Some love songs never really leave. They simply find new audiences.
Originally released on Climax Blues Band's 1980 album Flying the Flag before becoming a hit single in 1981, "I Love You" quietly grew into one of soft rock's most enduring ballads. More than a quarter century later, the song was rediscovered by an entirely new generation when Lazlo Bane included it on its 2007 all-covers album Guilty Pleasures, placing it alongside beloved hits by 10cc, Supertramp, The Eagles, Harry Nilsson, Player, Badfinger and more.
The title of the album perfectly fit the band's mission.
Reviewing Guilty Pleasures themselves, Lazlo Bane wrote that the "rules" were simple: pick "a song from the 70s you know, you might be a little embarrassed to admit you love, and you're not exactly sure who wrote it," and that's how they came up with the track list. They also shared that the album came about because they were asked to cover Stealers Wheel's iconic 1973 hit song for a movie and the rest is history.
"We were asked to cover 'Stuck in the Middle with You' for a film and had so much fun we said what the heck, let’s keep going. Four months and 20 songs later and viola! Guilty Pleasures was born," wrote the band on its website.
For "I Love You," however, the song's journey almost ended before it ever began.
Bassist Derek Holt wrote the song in a burst of inspiration at a small studio he had assembled in the corner of a bedroom.
"I sat down at the piano, set the recorder and just started playing the intro and chords to 'I Love You,' Holt recalled in an interview with Rediscover the 80s. "I wrote the whole structure of the song in a couple of takes, including the key change to the solo which I thought was quite clever how it came back to the bridge. ... I added the guitar solo which just seemed naturally what would fit. I played it by bending the strings, it wasn't a slide guitar, put the bass on, then sat down and out poured the lyrics, from nowhere. I then sang it and did all the harmonies myself. I would say it was a pretty divine moment and one I can't explain."
Holt believed he had written something special.
"I thought it was the best and most complete song I'd ever written," he said. But the rest of Climax Blues Band disagreed.
When producer John Ryan asked if anyone had more songs to play, Holt reluctantly shared his demo.
"He loved it, even said he thought it was a hit."
Ryan's instincts proved right. Featuring legendary keyboardist Nicky Hopkins on piano and lush string arrangements by David Campbell, "I Love You" became Climax Blues Band's second-biggest U.S. hit, climbing to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 27 weeks on the chart and finishing as Billboard's No. 20 song of 1981.
But success also created tension within the band.
Holt later claimed that while the song was climbing the charts, some members refused to support it.
"We had the tour booked," he recalled. "Two guys in the band said, 'We're not going to America to promote Derek Holt's career.'" He believed the disagreement ultimately contributed to the band's eventual split.
For Holt, "I Love You" wasn't just another radio hit.
"It's a pure love song about a woman who enters a man's life and changes his world for the better," he explained in an interview with Pop Music Crooners, adding that the lyrics made it especially popular at weddings.
He also revealed the inspiration behind the song.
"It was about meeting my first wife, meeting the lady that's going to encourage me to do what I did best," Holt said. "At that particular moment in time, everything was right."
Looking back, he still marvels at how quickly it all came together.
"Usually songs appear from nowhere, and that one appeared in a couple of hours."
More than 40 years after first becoming a hit, "I Love You" remains a staple of soft rock radio. Thanks in part to Lazlo Bane's affectionate revival on Guilty Pleasures, the song continues to remind listeners why some so-called guilty pleasures never lose their charm.
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