Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Lookin' for Love
1980 single by Johnny Lee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
"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" titled "Buscando Amor".
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2023) |
Remove ads
Background
Summarize
Perspective
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]
Remove ads
Series
The song was performed by Johnny Lee in an episode of the TV series CHiPs. It could also be heard in episodes 274 and 275 of Dallas. It was also performed live on the episode Colt's Outlaw's, of the TV series, The Fall Guy.
Cover versions, parodies and tributes
 |
Country music group Sawyer Brown recorded 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 was 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" was titled in tribute to this song ("par'Mach" is defined in the episode as "the Klingon word for love, but with more aggressive overtones").[10]
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 album, Odies But Goodies.
The 1st 2 lines of the chorus is almost an exact word-for-word match of the 1st 2 lines of the bridge of The Grass Roots' 1971 song Sooner Or Later.
Charts
Remove ads
Sources
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads