Classic rock songs for Valentine"s Day
"Our House" - Crosby Stills & Nash
Our house is a very, very fine house,
With two cats in the yard.
Life used to be so hard,
Now everything is easy,
Beause of you.
Graham Nash wrote this idyllic song for Crosby Stills & Nash at the time he and Joni Mitchell were living together in a cottage in Laurel Canyon, the storied Los Angeles enclave of late '60s musicians. It was also the house in which Nash, David Crosby and Stephen Stills first sang together.
Watch a 1974 Crosby Stills Nash & Young performance of "Our House"
From the 1970 album Deja Vu, available on CD, LP, MP3, audio cassette
"Something" - George Harrison
When Paul McCartney and John Lennon call a song one of the best that George Harrison wrote and among the best that The Beatles recorded, that's high praise indeed. If it's true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, a lot of other artists feel the same -- more than 150 of them have covered "Something"
Watch George Harrison's performance of "Something" at his 1971 Concert for Bangladesh
From the 1969 album, Abbey Road, available on CD, LP, audio cassette
"Waiting For A Girl Like You" - Foreigner
I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life.
I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive.
I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive.
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life.
Foreigner were well established as a hard rock outfit when they released this soft rock love song, which gave them new exposure to Top 40 and Adult Contemporary audiences. It has since become one of the band's best known songs.
Watch a live Foreigner performance of "Waiting For A Girl Like You"
From the 1981 album 4, available on CD, LP, MP3, DVD audio, audio cassette
"Wild Horses" - The Rolling Stones
"Wild Horses" was anything but a typical Rolling Stones song. Released on Sticky Fingers in 1971, it was a slow, acoustic ballad. The song was written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Gram Parsons (Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds) who recorded the first of the dozens of covers that would follow.
Watch The Rolling Stones perform "Wild Horses in 1995
From the 1971 album Sticky Fingers, available on CD, LP, MP3, audio cassette
"Wonderful Tonight" - Eric Clapton
Yes, the same artist who delivered us "Cocaine" also gave us (on the same album) a touching love song about his wife, Pattie Boyd (who was also once the wife of his good friend George Harrison.) Eric Clapton wrote the song for Slowhand, released in 1977, but it would be another 14 years before "Wonderful Tonight" was released as a single.
Watch Eric Clapton in a live performance of "Wonderful Tonight"
From the 1977 album, Slowhand, available on CD, LP
"You and Me" - Alice Cooper
Even a shock rocker like Alice Cooper can carry off a tender love song. In fact, he delivered this one so well (on Lace and Whiskey in 1977) it was a Top 10 hit in the US, a chart position he wouldn't hold again until 12 years later. "You and Me" is about love from the perspective of an average working stiff, something to which most of us can readily relate.
Watch Alice Cooper perform "You and Me" on The Muppet Show in 1978
From the 1977 album Lace and Whiskey, available on CD, LP, MP3, audio cassette
"You Are So Beautiful" - Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker's emotional delivery of "You Are So Beautiful" has made it one of his signature songs. it was originally recorded by Billy Preston, who co-wrote it with Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys (who sometimes performed it in live performance encores) but it will forever be associated with the gravel voiced blues rocker.
Watch Joe Cocker's live performance of "You Are So Beautiful"
From the 1974 album I Can Stand a Little Rain, available on CD, MP3
"You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim) - Rod Stewart
When a dedicated soccer fan like Rod Stewart tells the object of his affection that she's even better than his two favorite teams ("you're Celtic and United") that's true love!
Music video - Rod Stewart - "You're In My Heart"
From the 1977 album, Foot Loose & Fancy Free, available on CD, LP, MP3, audio cassette
"You're the Inspiration" - Chicago
You're the meaning in my life, you're the inspiration.
You bring feeling to my life, you're the inspiration.
Wanna have you near me, I wanna have you hear me sayin'
No one needs you more than I need you.
Peter Cetera and David Foster originally wrote the song for Kenny Rogers, but it wound up instead on Chicago's 17th studio album, Cetera's last with the band. The music video featured a cameo appearance by actor Matt Dillon.
Watch music video of Chicago's "You're The Inspiration"
From the 1984 album Chicago 17, available on CD, LP, audio cassette