For Your Love

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This article is about the Yardbirds song. For the Yardbirds album, see For Your Love (album). For other uses, see For Your Love (disambiguation).

"For Your Love"
For Your Love.jpg
Single by the Yardbirds
B-side"Got to Hurry"
Released
  • 5 March 1965 (1965-03-05) (UK)
  • 9 April 1965 (US)
Recorded1 February 1965[1][2]
StudioIBC, London
GenrePop rock
Length2:38
Label
Songwriter(s)Graham Gouldman
Producer(s)Giorgio Gomelsky
The Yardbirds UK singles chronology
"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"
(1964) 		"For Your Love"
(1965) 		"Heart Full of Soul"
(1965)
The Yardbirds US singles chronology
"I Wish You Would"
(1964) 		"For Your Love"
(1965) 		"Heart Full of Soul"
(1965)

"For Your Love" is a rock song written by Graham Gouldman and recorded by English group the Yardbirds. Released in March 1965, it was their first top ten hit in both the UK and the US. The song was a departure from the group's blues roots in favour of a commercial pop rock sound. Guitarist Eric Clapton disapproved of the change and it influenced him to leave the group.[3][4][5]

Background[]

Gouldman wrote the song at the age of 18 while working by day in a gentlemen's outfitters near Salford Docks and playing by night with the semi-professional Manchester band the Mockingbirds.[6] Gouldman cited the Beatles as his influence:

We went down to Denmark Street and went round all the publishers trying to find a song ... we didn't get any songs that we liked or we weren't given any songs period and the Beatles had started and I thought 'well, I’m gonna really have a crack at song-writing.' I had dabbled a bit, but they were really my inspiration and gave me and I think a lot of other people the courage to actually do it. We all wanted to be like the Beatles. I wrote two songs and the record company we were with turned down one of the songs. The song they turned down was 'For Your Love', which eventually found its way to the Yardbirds.[7]

The Yardbirds were performing on a Christmas show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and song publisher Ronnie Beck played the song to their manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, and the band.[6]

Recording[]

The Yardbirds recorded "For Your Love" at the IBC Studios in London on 1 February 1965.[1][2] The majority of the song was recorded with singer Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty backed by session musician Ron Prentice on bowed bass, Denny Piercy on bongos, and organist Brian Auger on harpsichord.[1] Guitarists Eric Clapton and Chris Dreja perform only during the song's double-time middle break section.[1] Bassist Paul Samwell-Smith assumed the production duties and is listed as musical director on the 45.[8] At the conclusion of the session, Auger wondered, "Who, in their right mind, is going to buy a pop single with harpsichord on it?"[9]

Releases and charts[]

Shortly after its release by Columbia on 5 March 1965, it became a hit in the UK.[1] When it was released a month later by Epic Records in the US, it became the group's first charting single.[1] By then, Clapton had already left the group for various reasons, including their more commercial aspirations.[10]

1965 singles charts
Chart Peak Ref(s)
UK Singles (Official Charts) 3 [1]
UK Singles (NME) 1 [11]
Canada RPM 100 1 [12]
Ireland IRMA Chart 10 [13]
US Billboard Hot 100 6 [1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Koda, Cub; Russo, Gregg (2001). Ultimate! (Boxed set booklet). The Yardbirds. Los Angeles: Rhino Records. pp. 27, 30, 44. OCLC 781357622. R2 79825.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Clayson, Alan (2002). The Yardbirds. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 172, 196. ISBN 0-87930-724-2.
  3. ^ Frank Hoffmann (23 May 2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000. Routledge. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-135-86886-4.
  4. ^ The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: Folk, pop, mods, and rockers, 1960-1966. Greenwood Press. 2006. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-313-32960-9.
  5. ^ Mike Clifford; Pete Frame (25 August 1992). The Harmony illustrated encyclopedia of rock. Harmony Books. p. 194. ISBN 9780517590782.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b George Tremlett (1976). The 10cc Story. Futura. ISBN 0-86007-378-5.
  7. ^ "Good evening and welcome to a very special I Write The Songs here on BBC Radio Wales with me, Alan Thompson". The10ccfanclub.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  8. ^ Columbia DB 7499 record label
  9. ^ 16 Brian Auger Talks About the Yardbirds' For Your Love-.mov (Interview video). Retrieved 15 January 2015 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "The Yardbirds: 'For Your Love' – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  11. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Osborne, Roger (1995). Forty Years of "NME" Charts (2nd ed.). Pan Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN 0-7522-0829-2.
  12. ^ "R.P.M. Play Sheet". RPM. 1965 – via Bac-lac.gc.ca.
  13. ^ "Search by artist: 'Yardbirds'". Irishsharts.ie. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
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