Caravan of Love

"Caravan of Love"
"Caravan of Love"
Song
B-side	"When I First Met Jesus"

"Caravan of Love"
"Caravan of Love"
Song
B-side	"I Can't Get over Losin' You"

"Caravan of Love" is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of The Isley Brothers' 3 + 3 lineup of the 1970s.

Original Isley-Jasper-Isley version

After breaking away from the legendary family group, the group (notably Chris Jasper) wrote and produced this single, which was Jasper's interpolation intending to reach audiences by presenting Christian beliefs in his music. The song became the trio's biggest hit going to number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart and fifty-one on the Billboard pop chart in 1985,^[1] and would be their only prominent hit before they splintered into solo careers in 1988. The music video was filmed on-location in New York City.

Personnel

Chris Jasper: Keyboards, lead vocals, piano, production
Ernie Isley: Guitar, backing vocals, production
Marvin Isley: Bass, backing vocals, production

Track listings

7" vinyl single

Side one

"Caravan of Love" – 4:15

Side two

"I Can't Get over Losin' You" – 4:05

12" vinyl single

Side one

"Caravan of Love" – 5:43

Side two

"I Can't Get over Losin' You" – 4:05

Chart performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100^[2]	51
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks^[2]	1
Chart (1986)	Peak position
Dutch Top 40^[3]	21
US Billboard Adult Contemporary^[2]	16

Preceded by "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder	Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single November 30, 1985 - December 14, 1985	Succeeded by "Don't Say No Tonight" by Eugene Wilde

The Housemartins version

British indie band The Housemartins released "Caravan of Love" in November 1986. The a cappella song was a success, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart on 16 December 1986, (only the second a cappella recording to do so, after "Only You" by the Flying Pickets in 1983), before being denied the Christmas number one single by a posthumous re-release of Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite".^[4]

The song was released on the greatest hits compilation Now That's What I Call Quite Good.

Track listings

7" vinyl single

Side one

"Caravan of Love" – 3:40

Side two

"When I First Met Jesus" – 2:46

12" vinyl single

Side one

"Caravan of Love"
"We Shall Not Be Moved"

Side two

"When I First Met Jesus"
"So Much in Love"
"Heaven Help Us All (Sermonette)"

Chart performance

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart^[5]	1
Irish Singles Chart	1
Chart (1987)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart^[6]	7
Dutch Top 40^[7]	3
German Top100 Singles^[8]	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	2
Norwegian Singles Chart^[9]	2
Swedish Singles Chart^[10]	1
Swiss Singles Chart^[11]	2

Preceded by "The Final Countdown" by Europe	UK number one single (Housemartins version) December 16, 1986	Succeeded by "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson
Preceded by "Flash" by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco	Swedish number-one single February 11, 1987 - March 25, 1987	Succeeded by "You're the Voice" by John Farnham
Preceded by "The Final Countdown" by Europe	Irish Singles Chart number-one single December 13, 1986 - January 3, 1987	Succeeded by "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson

Other versions

On The Rippingtons 1996 album Brave New World, featuring the vocals of The Whispers.
Gospel singer Marvin Sapp with Christian contemporary singer Bob Carlisle and jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum from the WOW Gospel 2000 compilation.
Jazz artist Terry Callier on his 2002 album, Speak Your Peace.
German singer Nena in 2006.
In 2004, German pop group Preluders covered the song on their album Prelude to History.
British pop singer Pixie Lott released in November 2014 a charity version of the song as the lead single from her first hits collection Platinum Pixie. The song charted at #129 in the UK. ^[12]
Eric Essix 2014 album "The Isley Sessions".

References

^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 279.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Billboard charts at Allmusic". Retrieved November 22, 2008.
^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 8, 1986". Retrieved November 22, 2008.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 469. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "everyhit.com search results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "austriancharts.at". Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 7, 1987". Retrieved November 23, 2008.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Suchergebnis — Suche nach: "Housemartins" UND "Caravan" UND "of" UND "Love" — Suche in: Deutsche Single-Charts ab 1956". Retrieved December 10, 2008.
^ "norwegiancharts.com". Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "swedishcharts.com". Retrieved November 23, 2008.
^ "hitparade.ch". Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ http://zobbel.de/cluk/141115cluk.txt

[1] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 279.

[billboard-2] "Billboard charts at Allmusic". Retrieved November 22, 2008.

[3] "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 8, 1986". Retrieved November 22, 2008.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-4] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 469. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[5] "everyhit.com search results". Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[6] "austriancharts.at". Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[7] "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 7, 1987". Retrieved November 23, 2008.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[8] "Suchergebnis — Suche nach: "Housemartins" UND "Caravan" UND "of" UND "Love" — Suche in: Deutsche Single-Charts ab 1956". Retrieved December 10, 2008.

[9] "norwegiancharts.com". Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[10] "swedishcharts.com". Retrieved November 23, 2008.

[11] "hitparade.ch". Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[12] ttp://zobbel.de/cluk/141115cluk.txt

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v t e The Housemartins
Norman Cook Stan Cullimore Paul Heaton Dave Hemingway Ted Key Hugh Whitaker
Studio albums	London 0 Hull 4 The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death
Live albums	Live at the BBC
Compilations	Now That's What I Call Quite Good Soup Happy Hour: The Collection
Singles	"Flag Day" "Sheep" "Happy Hour" "Think for a Minute" "Caravan of Love" "Five Get Over Excited" "Me and the Farmer" "Build" "There Is Always Something There to Remind Me"