"Love the One You're With" is a 1970 single by folk rocker Stephen Stills. The first release off his first solo album Stephen Stills, it rose to the top twenty of the pop singles chart, peaking at No. 14.[1]
A live version by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young appears on their album 4 Way Street. A solo version by Stills appears on the Crosby, Stills and Nash CD Demos.
Stills wrote the song after being inspired by the tag line -- "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" which was a frequent remark by musician Billy Preston. Stills asked him for permission to use the line in a song and Preston agreed immediately.
[edit] Cover versions
Several acts have since covered the song. The most notable cover came in 1971 from The Isley Brothers, whose unique gospel-driven cover of the song sent it to the charts again reaching number three R&B and number eighteen pop, giving the group their fifth US top 40 pop single.[2] Other versions from 1971 include Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their live album 4 Way Street, Aretha Franklin on her album Aretha Live at Fillmore West, The Supremes along with The Four Tops on their album Dynamite, Engelbert Humperdinck on Live At The Riviera, Bobby Goldsboro and Les Humphries Singers.
A version was released by early 80s UK pop trio, Tight Fit in 1983, but failed to chart. Bucks Fizz covered the song as their eighteenth single in 1986 reaching UK #47.[3] Will Young also recorded a version for his second album, Friday's Child. In 2006, Dennis Rollins produced a further cover on the album Big Night Out!. The Chantoozies produced another cover, releasing it as a single from their second album Gild the Lily, becoming their biggest selling single.
Another notable cover of this tune is from the Danish act Ray Dee Ohh's second album from 1990 "Too". A solid up-tempo, classic pop/rock version
Other live versions include The Jackson 5, Jeff Martin, Hootie and the Blowfish, Luther Vandross and Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. Crosby, Stills, & Nash also performed the song with James Taylor at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert.
In 2010, the song became a family affair with Stephen's daughter Jen Stills covering her father's classic. The track was featured in an episode of the popular ABC drama, Brothers & Sisters.
It was also sampled by Canadian artist Classified on the track "Love the one you're with"
[edit] Stephen Stills version credits
[edit] Isley Brothers version credits
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