Love Potion No. 9 (song)

"Love Potion No. 9"
Single by The Clovers
Released	1959
Length	2:02
Label	United Artists
Writer(s)	Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

"Love Potion No. 9" is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by The Clovers, who took it to no. 23 on the US charts that year. It is in chromatic-minor.

Story

The song describes a man seeking help finding love, so he talks to a Gypsy, who determines through palm reading that he needs "love potion number 9". The potion causes him to fall in love with everything he sees, kissing whatever is in front of him, eventually kissing a cop on the corner, who breaks his bottle of love potion.

In an alternate version of the ending of the Clover's song, they recorded the alternate lyrics:

"I had so much fun, that I'm going back again,
I wonder what happens with Love Potion Number Ten?"

That version was used on the soundtrack to "American Graffiti".

Some radio stations banned the song, due to the lyrics involving "Kissing a cop". 

The lyrics mention being "a flop with chicks" since 1956; this is often changed to a later year such as 1996 or 2006 when performed by singers who weren't even born in that year.

Covers

• Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders (1963)
• The Searchers (1964), a U.S. No. 3 hit in 1965
• Ronnie Dio and the Prophets (1964)
• Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (1965)
• The Ventures (February 1965)
• Paolo Bracci (in Italian, as "Non Ho Dormito Mai") (1965)
• Nancy Sit (1967)
• The Coasters (1959, 1971)
• Elkie Brooks (1976)
• Hurriganes (1978)
• The Nylons (1982)
• Tygers of Pan Tang (1982)
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (1988)
• Southern All Stars (1990)
• Carole Davis (End Titles of the film Love Potion No. 9 arranged by James Wilson and J. Rodgers) (1992)
• Neil Diamond (1993)
• Rockapella
• AC/DC
• The Alley Cats
• The White Stripes
• Flotsam and Jetsam
• MDC
• Gary Lewis & The Playboys
• Art Murphy and Hard Road (1976)(Canada)
• The Dead Billies (1996)(Brazil)
• Beau Nasty (1989)
• Robert Plant (2008)
• Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters (2009)(Italy)
• Thaddeus Quince and the New Originals

In popular culture

• The recording by the Clovers features in the film American Graffiti (1973).

• It was featured in the movie of the same name.

• It also appeared in the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe.

• As a pop-culture reference, it is found in the animated film, Shrek 2. The bottle of love potion that the Fairy Godmother gives to the King of Far Far Away has IX (the number nine in Roman numerals) on the side of it.

• The Sims game series features a "Love Potion 8.5", that is probably a reference to both this song and the movie.

• One of the books in Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series features a reference to "Hate Potion #9".

• The 8th edition rules of the live action role playing game NERO features a "Love Potion #9" that can be created with the game skill Alchemy.

• In a season 1 episode of Fraggle Rock The Trash Heap gives Wembley a bottle of Love Potion #9, which causes everyone to smells it to fall in love with him.

• The Cyndi Lauper song "I'll Kiss You" mentions love potion number 8 being a failure, but number 9 succeeds.

• It was performed by American Idol contestant James Durbin during Season 10 of the reality show.

Parodies

• The Capitol Steps did a parody called "Polonium-209", which referred to the alleged murder of Alexander Litvinenko using the aforementioned element.

• Xhol Caravan recorded a version in 1970 retitled "Love Potion 25" with the lyrics now referring to LSD.

• Paul Shanklin did a parody called "Love Client No. 9" about the former Democrat governor of New York Eliot Spitzer and his alias in the prostitution scandal that led to Spitzer's removal from office.

External links

• Sample of the song