"Love of the Common People" is a song written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, eventually released in 1970 on John Hurley's album ''John Hurley Sings about People,'' but first sung in January 1967 by The Four Preps. The Four Preps recording was not a hit, but, later in 1967,

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

and Wayne Newton would each issue their versions of the song, both of which "bubbled under" in the US charts; Newton's version peaked at No. 106, the Everlys' at No. 114. However, the Everly Brothers' recording was a major hit in Canada, peaking at No. 4. In 1968, Irish artist

Joe Dolan Joseph Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish entertainer, recording artist, and pop singer. Chiefly known in Ireland for his association with showbands and for his innovative style and high pitched singing v ...

and backing grouping The Drifters recorded a version which hit the Top 10 in the Irish Singles Chart, but did not chart elsewhere. Soul group The Winstons recorded their version in 1969, where it peaked at No. 54 on the US

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. A year later, Nicky Thomas had a major UK hit (No. 9) with a reggae-inspired version, and Paul Young had a No. 2 UK hit (and No. 1 in several European countries) in 1983 with his interpretation of the song.

Lyrics

The lyrics tell a bleak story of poverty and unemployment. There is a mention of "free food tickets," a reference to government food stamp and welfare programs, in the very first line, and the lyrics also describe the subject family as having holes in their clothes, their roof and their shoes. The last verse advises the subject family to keep their faith strong and to maintain hope for improvement.

Nicky Thomas version

Nicky Thomas recorded a Joe Gibbs-produced

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

version of the song in 1970, which sold over 175,000 copies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and reached number 9 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

.Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall,'' Greenwood Press, , p. 292 It was Thomas's largest selling single, and, according to Steve Leggett of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, "practically defines the term 'pop reggae.'"Leggett, Steve " ''Love of the Common People: The Best of Nicky Thomas'' Review ''

,'' Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 6 December 2009

Paul Young version

In 1982, Paul Young released his interpretation of "Love of the Common People" as a single, but initially it failed to chart. Only after Young's first and second solo hits in 1983, with " Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)" and " Come Back and Stay", and the single's re-release did it become successful. The single peaked at No 2 in the UK, and reached the No 1 spot in Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. This version also contained a solo by ska and

trombonist Rico Rodriguez.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

*Soul group The Winstons recorded their version in 1969, where it peaked at No. 54 on the

. *It was also a Top 10 hit in Ireland for

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

star

in 1968. *

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

recorded a version on his second album

Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' is Leonard Nimoy's second album released shortly after '' Music from Outer Space''. It was released in early 1968 by Dot Records and reached 97 on the US album chart. Background The album is a continuation of the " ...

in 1968. *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

recorded a version on his album “ Rhymes & Reasons”. *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

recorded a version which appears on his covers album " Chartbusters Go Pop", released in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Of The Common People (Song) Country ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Pop ballads Paul Young songs Joe Dolan songs 1982 singles 1983 singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Songs about poverty 1967 songs Capitol Records singles CBS Records singles