All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You

"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" is a song by American rock band Heart. It was composed by veteran songwriter and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and released as the lead single from the band's tenth studio album, Brigade, in March 1990. The song was first recorded as "All I Want to Do Is Make Love to You" by Dobie Gray in 1979, though with different lyrics.[2][3][4] The Heart version tells the story of a woman who sets out to seduce a hitchhiker in order to become pregnant because although there is a man in her life, he is infertile.[5]

"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You"
Cover art for the single with alternate title
Single by Heart
from the album Brigade
B-side
  • "Call of the Wild"
  • "Cruel Tears" (12-inch and CD only)
ReleasedMarch 12, 1990 (1990-03-12)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:09 (album version)
  • 4:29 (7-inch edit)
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Producer(s)Richie Zito
Heart singles chronology
"I Want You So Bad"
(1988)
"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You"
(1990)
"I Didn't Want to Need You"
(1990)
Music video
All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You on YouTube

"All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" was a success, spending two weeks at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart (becoming their last top ten in the US and UK), and reaching number one in Canada and Australia. At the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and is the only one of Heart's singles to have been certified gold by the RIAA. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song climbed to number six, becoming the third of Heart's four top-ten AC hits (after "These Dreams" and "Alone").

The single was Heart's last pop chart top ten hit in the US to date. The band had one more top ten Adult Contemporary chart hit with the follow-up "Stranded"; "Stranded" and two singles from 1994's Desire Walks On ("Black on Black II" and "Will You Be There (In the Morning)") were also top 10 Album Rock chart hits.

Background

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In the liner notes of Heart's album The Road Home, Ann Wilson commented on the band's dislike for the song, stating, "Actually we had sworn off it because it kind of stood for everything we wanted to get away from. It was a song by 'Mutt' Lange, who we liked, and it was originally written for Don Henley, but there was a lot of pressure on us to do the song at the time."[6] Ann Wilson has made a number of comments on her dislike for the song, calling the song's message "hideous" in an interview with Dan Rather.[7] In that same interview, Ann mentions that she's surprised at how many of their fans, especially in Australia and New Zealand, want to hear the song to this day when Heart plays live. Although Heart does not perform this song due to Ann's dislike of it, Ann did eventually perform this song on her 2017 tour, though her version of the song had a few changes.

The 7-inch single features an edited 4:29 version of the album track (5:10). The 12-inch and CD versions featured the non-LP track "Cruel Tears". In the UK, a very limited 'tour edition' 12-inch single was released, on clear vinyl.

Content

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The original song as recorded by Dobie Gray in 1979 was a love song without a storyline, unlike the later version by Heart.

In the Heart version of the song, which is also played out in the accompanying music video, interspersed with sequences of the band performing the song, singer Ann Wilson sings of a one-night stand with a handsome young male hitchhiker. They make their way to a hotel room to have sex. The lyrics suggest that this may not be the first time the female protagonist has engaged in such behaviors, noting her familiarity with this particular hotel. The song explicitly highlights the sexual prowess of the young man, and his ability to easily and repeatedly bring the female protagonist to orgasm. She leaves a note with instructions for the man to make no attempt to contact her or track her down. It is subsequently revealed that her intent all along was to use the encounter as a way to become pregnant. The lyrics explain later, when she accidentally crosses paths with the one-time lover, that her baby is the result of their tryst and she did it only because the man she is in love with is not able to father children.

Credits and personnel

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Heart

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Additional musicians

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[38] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[42] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom March 12, 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
Capitol [1]
United States March 14, 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • cassette
[42]
Japan March 28, 1990 Mini-CD [43]

Halestorm versions

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Halestorm has covered "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" multiple times live and released a studio version on their Reanimate: The Covers EP album. The music video was directed by Andy Morahan and shot by Mike Southon.[44] "We covered 'All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You' very carefully, because you don't want to ruin a Heart song," remarked Lzzy Hale. "It's a very underrated track. I did it like that first version I heard on [Heart's 1995 album] The Road Home."[45]

References

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  1. ^ a b "New Singles". Music Week. March 10, 1990. p. 33.
  2. ^ Irwin, Corey (March 14, 2020). "How Heart Scored a 'Hateful' Hit With 'All I Wanna Do'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  3. ^ Donovan, Thom (October 1, 2023). "The Love Songs of Heart: A Look at Their 5 Most Romantic Ballads". American Songwriter. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Starkey, Arun (September 11, 2023). "The classic song Heart refuse to play live". Far Out. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "6 songs that seem romantic but aren't, and one that seems like it isn't but is". Upworthy.com. June 28, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Feldman, Christopher G., The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, ISBN 0-8230-7695-4.
  7. ^ "AXS The Big Interview with Dan Rather". AXS TV. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7917." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7964." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  13. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 18. May 5, 1990. p. 11 (of PDF). Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – All I Wanna Do". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 22, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  17. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". VG-lista.
  20. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Singles Top 100.
  21. ^ "Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  23. ^ "Heart Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  24. ^ "Heart Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  25. ^ "Heart Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  27. ^ "1990 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  28. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1990" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  30. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. 60 (of PDF). Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1990" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  32. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1990". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  33. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  34. ^ "End of Year Charts 1990". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  35. ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (December 22, 1990). "1990 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 51. p. YE-14. {{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  36. ^ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1990". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  37. ^ Lwin, Nanda. "Top 100 singles of the 1990s". Jam!. Archived from the original on August 29, 2000. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  38. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  39. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Music Canada. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  40. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 23, 2019.[dead link]
  41. ^ "British single certifications – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  42. ^ a b "American single certifications – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  43. ^ "愛していたい | ハート" [I Want to Love You | Heart] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  44. ^ Southon, Mike. "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You".
  45. ^ Chamberlain, Rich (July 2018). "Chosen by Lzzy Hale of Halestorm". Classic Rock. No. 250. p. 66.