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{{other uses|Looking for Love (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses|Looking for Love (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox song
{{Infobox song
| name = Lookin' for Love
| name = Lookin' for Love
| cover = Johnny Lee Lookin for Love single.png
| cover = Johnny Lee Lookin for Love single.png
| alt =
| alt =
| type = single
| type = single
| artist = [[Johnny Lee (singer)|Johnny Lee]]
| artist = [[Johnny Lee (singer)|Johnny Lee]]
| album = [[Urban_Cowboy#Soundtrack|Urban Cowboy: Original Motion Picture soundtrack]]
| album = [[Urban Cowboy (soundtrack)|Urban Cowboy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]]
| B-side = {{ubl|"[[Lyin' Eyes]]"|(by [[Eagles (band)|The Eagles]])}}
| B-side = {{ubl|"[[Lyin' Eyes]]"|(by [[Eagles (band)|The Eagles]])}}
| released = June 30, 1980
| released = June 30, 1980
| recorded = Spring 1980
| recorded = Spring 1980
| studio = [[Sunset Sound Recorders]], 6650 Sunset Blvd., [[Hollywood, California]]
| studio = [[Sunset Sound Recorders]], 6650 Sunset Blvd., [[Hollywood, California]]
| venue =
| venue =
| genre = [[Country pop]]
| genre =
* [[Country pop]]
* [[soft rock]]<ref name= "Rolling Stone Staff 2024">{{cite web|last= Rolling Stone Staff|title= The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time|website= [[Rolling Stone]]|date= September 24, 2024|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-movie-soundtracks-1235083518/|accessdate= October 5, 2024}}</ref>
| length = 3:37
| label = [[Full Moon Records|Full Moon]] <small>47004</small>
| length = 3:37
| label = [[Full Moon Records|Full Moon]] <small>47004</small>
| writer = Wanda Mallette, [[Bob Morrison (songwriter)|Bob Morrison]], Patti Ryan
| writer = Wanda Mallette, [[Bob Morrison (songwriter)|Bob Morrison]], Patti Ryan
| producer = [[John Boylan (record producer)|John Boylan]]
| producer = [[John Boylan (record producer)|John Boylan]]
| prev_title = This Time
| prev_title = This Time
| prev_year = 1978
| prev_year = 1978
| next_title = [[One in a Million (Johnny Lee song)|One in a Million]]
| next_title = [[One in a Million (Johnny Lee song)|One in a Million]]
| next_year = 1980
| next_year = 1980
}}
}}


"'''Lookin' for Love'''" is a song written by Wanda Mallette, [[Bob Morrison (songwriter)|Bob Morrison]] and Patti Ryan, and recorded by American [[country music]] singer [[Johnny Lee (singer)|Johnny Lee]]. It was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film ''[[Urban Cowboy]]'', released that year. [[Marcy Levy]] was one of the female singers who provided backing vocals on the track. "Lookin' for Love" was reissued as the lead song on his October 1980 album of the same name.
"'''Lookin' for Love'''" is a song written by Wanda Mallette, [[Bob Morrison (songwriter)|Bob Morrison]] and Patti Ryan, and recorded by American [[country music]] singer [[Johnny Lee (singer)|Johnny Lee]]. It was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film ''[[Urban Cowboy]]'', released that year. The background vocalists are [[Marcy Levy]], [[Rosemary Butler (singer)| Rosemary Butler]] and Tom Kelly. "Lookin' for Love" was reissued as the lead song on Lee's October 1980 album of the same name. Johnny Lee also recorded a Spanish language version of "Lookin' for Love" known as 'Buscando Amor'.


==Background==
==Background==
Lee, whose biggest hit to date had been a 1977 cover of Ricky Nelson's "[[Garden Party (Rick Nelson)|Garden Party]]", had been the main nightclub act (behind Mickey Gilley himself) at Gilley's, a nightclub owned by Sherwood Cryer and country music superstar [[Mickey Gilley]]. Record executive Irving Azoff offered Lee the chance to record "Lookin' For Love",<ref>{{cite web|last=Deming |first=Mark |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-lee-mn0000240267/biography |title=Johnny Lee &#124; Biography & History |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |date=July 3, 1946 |access-date=October 16, 2016}}</ref> a song that 20-plus artists had rejected.<ref name="songfactsweb">{{cite web|title=Lookin' For Love by Johnny Lee |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12011 |website=songfacts.com |access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref>
Lee, whose biggest hit to date had been a 1977 cover of Ricky Nelson's "[[Garden Party (Rick Nelson)|Garden Party]]", had been the main nightclub act (behind Mickey Gilley himself) at Gilley's, a nightclub owned by Sherwood Cryer and country music superstar [[Mickey Gilley]]. Record executive Irving Azoff offered Lee the chance to record "Lookin' For Love",<ref>{{cite web|last=Deming |first=Mark |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-lee-mn0000240267/biography |title=Johnny Lee &#124; Biography & History |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |date=July 3, 1946 |access-date=October 16, 2016}}</ref> a song that 20-plus artists had rejected.<ref name="songfactsweb">{{cite web|title=Lookin' For Love by Johnny Lee |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12011 |website=songfacts.com |access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref>


Critics were not kind to Lee nor the song. Country music historian Bill Malone once noted that "Lookin' for Love" – in his words, a "lilting little pop song" – became the featured song of ''Urban Cowboy'' and a huge commercial hit largely because "actor [[John Travolta]] (the movie's co-star) expressed a liking for it."<ref>Malone, Bill, "Country Music U.S.A," 2nd rev. ed. (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002), p.371.</ref> Critic Kurt Wolff panned the song as an example of "watered-down cowboy music."<ref>Wolff, Kurt, ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'', Rough Guides Ltd., London; Penguin Putnam, New York, distributor. p. 424 ({{ISBN|1-85828-534-8}})</ref>
Critical reaction to the song has been mixed. ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' called it "a powerful new ballad," noting "Lee's rich southern baritone and thick phrasing."<ref>{{cite news |title=The song appears three times in 'Urban Cowboy', like a signal.... |work=The Boston Globe |date=10 Aug 1980 |department=Arts |page=1}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] determined that "the MOR country-pop of 'Lookin' for Love' is so appealing that one suspects it could have been a hit even without the publicity from ''Urban Cowboy''."<ref>{{cite web |title=Lookin' for Love Review by Greg Adams |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/lookin-for-love-mw0000869858 |website=AllMusic |access-date=7 March 2023}}</ref> Country music historian Bill Malone once noted that "Lookin' for Love" – in his words, a "lilting little pop song" – became the featured song of ''Urban Cowboy'' and a huge commercial hit largely because "actor [[John Travolta]] (the movie's co-star) expressed a liking for it."<ref>Malone, Bill, "Country Music U.S.A," 2nd rev. ed. (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002), p.371.</ref> Critic Kurt Wolff panned the song as an example of "watered-down cowboy music."<ref>Wolff, Kurt, ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'', Rough Guides Ltd., London; Penguin Putnam, New York, distributor. p. 424 ({{ISBN|1-85828-534-8}})</ref>


Public reaction was much better. "Lookin' for Love" rose to No. 1 (for a three-week stay) on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart, and was a No. 5 [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] hit as well. On the US ''[[Cash Box (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100, the song spent two weeks at No. 4.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19801011.html |title=Top 100 1980-10-11 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]] |access-date=January 3, 2015}}</ref> The song is now recognized as a standard in country music, praised by country music fans and critics alike.
Public reaction was better. "Lookin' for Love" rose to No. 1 (for a three-week stay) on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles]] chart, and was a No. 5 [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] hit as well. On the US [[Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles|''Cash Box'' Top 100]], the song spent two weeks at No. 4.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19801011.html |title=Top 100 1980-10-11 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]] |access-date=January 3, 2015}}</ref> The song is now recognized as a standard in country music, praised by country music fans and critics alike.


"Lookin' for Love" was certified gold in 1980 for shipments of 1,000,000 units by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=Lookin%27+for+Love&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section |title=Gold & Platinum – RIAA |access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref>
"Lookin' for Love" was certified gold in 1980 for shipments of 1,000,000 units by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=Lookin%27+for+Love&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section |title=Gold & Platinum – RIAA |website=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref>


==Charts==
==Charts==
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| 51
| 51
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks
!scope="row"| Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
| 18
|-
!scope="row"| Canadian ''RPM'' Top Singles
| 54
| 54
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Canadian ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary Tracks
!scope="row"| Canada Adult Contemporary Tracks (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
| 20
| 20
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Canada Country Tracks (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
!scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]]<ref>{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1993 |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher= Record Research |page=137}}</ref>
| 18
|-
!scope="row" {{single chart|Billboardhot100|5|artist=Johnny Lee}}
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1993 |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher= Record Research |page=137}}</ref>
| 10
| 10
|-
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles|''Cash Box'' Top 100]]<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
|{{single chart|Billboardhot100|5|artist=Johnny Lee}}
|-
|US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
| 4
| 4
|-
|-
! scope="row" {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Johnny Lee}}
! scope="row" {{single chart|Billboardcountrysongs|1|artist=Johnny Lee}}
|}
|}
{{col-2}}


===Year-end charts===
===Year-end charts===
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!scope="col"| Position
!scope="col"| Position
|-
|-
!scope="row"| US ''Cash Box''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1980YESP.html |title=Top 100 Year End Charts: 1980 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]] |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}</ref>
!scope="row"| US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1980YESP.html |title=Top 100 Year End Charts: 1980 |work=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox Magazine]] |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}</ref>
| 37
| 37
|-
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Hot Country Songs]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1980/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 1980: Country Songs | work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] | date=1980}}</ref>
!scope="row"| US Hot Country Songs (''Billboard'')<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1980/hot-country-songs| title=Best of 1980: Country Songs | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] | date=1980}}</ref>
| 14
| 14
|}
|}
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==Series==
==Series==
The song was performed by Johnny Lee in an episode of ''[[CHiPs]]''. It could also be heard in two episodes of ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'', episodes 274 and 275.
The song was performed by Johnny Lee in an episode of ''[[CHiPs]]''. It could also be heard in two episodes of ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'', episodes 274 and 275. It was also performed live on the episode ''Colt's Outlaw's'', of the TV series, ''[[The Fall Guy]]''.


==Cover versions, parodies and tributes==
==Cover versions, parodies and tributes==
{{in popular culture|date=September 2023}}
Country music group [[Sawyer Brown]] recorded a cover of the song on the 2000 album ''[[The Hits Live]]''. This version peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles & Tracks]] chart.
Country music group [[Sawyer Brown]] recorded a cover of the song on the 2000 album ''[[The Hits Live]]''. This version peaked at No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles & Tracks]] chart.


The song is also featured in the classic ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch ''Buh-Weet Sings'', in which [[Billie Thomas|Buckwheat]] from ''[[Our Gang]]'' (played by [[Eddie Murphy]]) sings the song as "Wookin' Pa Nub".
The song is featured in the ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch ''Buh-Weet Sings'', in which [[Billie Thomas|Buckwheat]] from ''[[Our Gang]]'' (played by [[Eddie Murphy]]) sings the song as "Wookin' Pa Nub".


The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places]]" is titled in tribute to this song ("''par'Mach''" is defined in the episode as "the [[Klingon language|Klingon]] word for love, but with more aggressive overtones").<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion]] |last1=Erdman |first1=Terry J. |last2=Block |first2=Paula M. |year=2000 |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-671-50106-2 |page= 377}}</ref>
The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "[[Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places]]" is titled in tribute to this song ("''par'Mach''" is defined in the episode as "the [[Klingon language|Klingon]] word for love, but with more aggressive overtones").<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion]] |last1=Erdman |first1=Terry J. |last2=Block |first2=Paula M. |year=2000 |publisher=[[Pocket Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-671-50106-2 |page= 377}}</ref>
Line 94: Line 98:
[[Al Lowe]]'s second ''[[Leisure Suit Larry]]'' game, ''[[Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)]]'', is named after the song.
[[Al Lowe]]'s second ''[[Leisure Suit Larry]]'' game, ''[[Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places)]]'', is named after the song.


[[Old Dominion (band)|Old Dominion]] performed the song at the [[54th Annual Country Music Association Awards]] on November 11, 2020. They recorded this song on their 2024 compilation album, ''Odies But Goodies''.
The song was referenced in ''[[Operation Repo]]'' in season 11 episode 7.

The Mexican group, Los Felinos, did a Spanish cover, "Buscando Amor."

The song was punned in the January 13, 2020, comic strip ''[[Pearls Before Swine (comics)|Pearls Before Swine]]''.

[[Old Dominion (band)|Old Dominion]] performed the song at the [[54th Annual Country Music Association Awards]] on November 11, 2020.

The song was used in a [[2021 in American television|2021]] [[TV commercial]] for [[Coors Light]].

The song was used in the "[[Star Trek: Strange New Worlds]]" episode "Spock Amok", the fifth episode of the series' first season, on June 2, 2022.


==Sources==
==Sources==

Latest revision as of 02:33, 16 November 2024

"Lookin' for Love"
Single by Johnny Lee
from the album Urban Cowboy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side
ReleasedJune 30, 1980
RecordedSpring 1980
StudioSunset Sound Recorders, 6650 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California
Genre
Length3:37
LabelFull Moon 47004
Songwriter(s)Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison, Patti Ryan
Producer(s)John Boylan
Johnny Lee singles chronology
"This Time"
(1978)
"Lookin' for Love"
(1980)
"One in a Million"
(1980)

"Lookin' for Love" is a song written by Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison and Patti Ryan, and recorded by American country music singer Johnny Lee. It was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film Urban Cowboy, released that year. The background vocalists are Marcy Levy, Rosemary Butler and Tom Kelly. "Lookin' for Love" was reissued as the lead song on Lee's October 1980 album of the same name. Johnny Lee also recorded a Spanish language version of "Lookin' for Love" known as 'Buscando Amor'.

Background

[edit]

Lee, whose biggest hit to date had been a 1977 cover of Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party", had been the main nightclub act (behind Mickey Gilley himself) at Gilley's, a nightclub owned by Sherwood Cryer and country music superstar Mickey Gilley. Record executive Irving Azoff offered Lee the chance to record "Lookin' For Love",[2] a song that 20-plus artists had rejected.[3]

Critical reaction to the song has been mixed. The Boston Globe called it "a powerful new ballad," noting "Lee's rich southern baritone and thick phrasing."[4] AllMusic determined that "the MOR country-pop of 'Lookin' for Love' is so appealing that one suspects it could have been a hit even without the publicity from Urban Cowboy."[5] Country music historian Bill Malone once noted that "Lookin' for Love" – in his words, a "lilting little pop song" – became the featured song of Urban Cowboy and a huge commercial hit largely because "actor John Travolta (the movie's co-star) expressed a liking for it."[6] Critic Kurt Wolff panned the song as an example of "watered-down cowboy music."[7]

Public reaction was better. "Lookin' for Love" rose to No. 1 (for a three-week stay) on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and was a No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit as well. On the US Cash Box Top 100, the song spent two weeks at No. 4.[8] The song is now recognized as a standard in country music, praised by country music fans and critics alike.

"Lookin' for Love" was certified gold in 1980 for shipments of 1,000,000 units by the Recording Industry Association of America.[9]

Charts

[edit]

Series

[edit]

The song was performed by Johnny Lee in an episode of CHiPs. It could also be heard in two episodes of Dallas, episodes 274 and 275. It was also performed live on the episode Colt's Outlaw's, of the TV series, The Fall Guy.

Cover versions, parodies and tributes

[edit]

Country music group Sawyer Brown recorded a cover of the song on the 2000 album The Hits Live. This version peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

The song is featured in the Saturday Night Live sketch Buh-Weet Sings, in which Buckwheat from Our Gang (played by Eddie Murphy) sings the song as "Wookin' Pa Nub".

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is titled in tribute to this song ("par'Mach" is defined in the episode as "the Klingon word for love, but with more aggressive overtones").[16]

Al Lowe's second Leisure Suit Larry game, Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places), is named after the song.

Old Dominion performed the song at the 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 11, 2020. They recorded this song on their 2024 compilation album, Odies But Goodies.

Sources

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (September 24, 2024). "The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark (July 3, 1946). "Johnny Lee | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  3. ^ "Lookin' For Love by Johnny Lee". songfacts.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "The song appears three times in 'Urban Cowboy', like a signal...". Arts. The Boston Globe. 10 Aug 1980. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Lookin' for Love Review by Greg Adams". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  6. ^ Malone, Bill, "Country Music U.S.A," 2nd rev. ed. (University of Texas Press, Austin, 2002), p.371.
  7. ^ Wolff, Kurt, Country Music: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides Ltd., London; Penguin Putnam, New York, distributor. p. 424 (ISBN 1-85828-534-8)
  8. ^ a b "Top 100 1980-10-11". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 175. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Johnny Lee Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 137.
  13. ^ "Johnny Lee Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1980". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  15. ^ "Best of 1980: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1980.
  16. ^ Erdman, Terry J.; Block, Paula M. (2000). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. New York: Pocket Books. p. 377. ISBN 0-671-50106-2.

Other sources

[edit]