Love Is a Rose

"Love Is a Rose"
Song

"Love Is a Rose" is a song written and composed by Neil Young. It first became popular in 1975 when Linda Ronstadt had a country hit with her version. "Love Is a Rose" has also been covered by other artists over the years.

Neil Young version

Background

Neil Young first recorded "Love Is a Rose" in 1974 for the unreleased album Homegrown. It was later released by Young in 1977 on the compilation Decade.

The melody for "Love Is a Rose" was taken from yet another unreleased song "Dance Dance Dance," which finally saw release on Live at Massey Hall 1971 in 2007. Young's longtime backing band Crazy Horse had recorded "Dance Dance Dance" in 1971 on their album Crazy Horse and The New Seekers released it as a single in 1972.

Linda Ronstadt version

"Love Is a Rose"
Song
A-side	"Love Is a Rose"
B-side	"Heat Wave"

Background

Linda Ronstadt recorded "Love Is a Rose" in a country music arrangement on her platinum-certified 1975 album Prisoner in Disguise. Her rendition peaked at number 5 the US Billboard Country Singles chart. "Love Is a Rose" also debuted on the pop-oriented "Billboard" Hot 100 but its B-side: "Heat Wave", became the track of choice for pop radio stations, becoming a number 5 hit. Ronstadt frequently performed the song at her concerts during the mid- to late-1970s.

Chart performance

Chart (1975)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	63
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	5
Canadian RPM Top Singles	100
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	46

Other versions

• Lisa Loeb recorded "Love Is a Rose" on her 2008 album, Camp Lisa. Jill Johnson covered the song on her 2009 cover album Music Row II, after having performed the song live in a capella versions with the band on live concerts.
• Terri Clark recorded a cover of "Love Is a Rose" for her ninth studio album, Classic, which was released November 13, 2012. Clark's version was released as the album's first single in October 2012.

References

• The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt by Linda Ronstadt on Amazon