"Isn't It Always Love" is a song written by

Karla Bonoff Karla Bonoff (born December 27, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter. While Bonoff has released a number of albums, she is primarily known for her songwriting. Bonoff's songs include "Home", covered by Bonnie Raitt, " Tell Me Why" by Wynonna Ju ...

. It was originally recorded by Bonoff as well for her debut studio album. The song went unreleased as a single until American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

recorded the track in 1979. The song became a top ten hit for Anderson the same year.

Versions

Karla Bonoff version

American singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff had recorded the original version of "Isn't It Always Love". The track was recorded at the Sound Factory, located in Los Angeles, California. The song was not issued as a single, but appeared on her debut 1977 album, which was also titled ''

''. The album was issued as a

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

, with "Isn't It Always Love" appearing as the first track on "side one". When reviewing the album, Ruhlmann commented on the song's musical style, saying they "paint an effective picture of the ups and downs of love, circa the mid-'70s." In Canada, the single reached #82 on May 27, 1978.

Lynn Anderson version

Anderson recorded her version in 1979 at the Sounds Lab Studio, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The sessions was produced by David Wolfert. Anderson had recently begun working with Wolfert after many years under the production supervision of

Glenn Sutton Royce Glenn Sutton (September 28, 1937 – April 17, 2007) was an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and one of the architects of the countrypolitan sound. Biography Sutton was born in Hodge, Louisiana, and grew up in C ...

"Isn't It Always Love" reached number 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in 1979. It also reached the top ten on the Canadian RPM Country Songs chart the same year. "Isn't It Always Love" became Anderson's first single to reach the top ten since 1974. The song was issued on Anderson's 1979 studio album, '' Outlaw Is Just a State of Mind''.

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "Isn't It Always Love" – 2:58 * "A Child with You Tonight" – 2:45 It was also recorded by Karen Alexander. Her first album was also called: Isn’t it always love”. A version by Lyndia Scott was #42 for two weeks on the Canadian charts in November 1993.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1979 singles 1979 songs Columbia Records singles Karla Bonoff songs Lynn Anderson songs Songs written by Karla Bonoff