Today’s classic song of the day is “I’m In Love.” It was written by Bobby Womack and recorded by Womack himself, Wilson Pickett, and Aretha Franklin.
Bobby Womack wrote “I’m In Love” in 1967. He had recently married the widow of fellow soul singer Sam Cooke and was receiving no small amount of flack for that. He wrote this song in response.
The first recording of “I’m In Love” was by Wilson Pickett on the Atlantic Records label. Womack recalled Pickett’s reaction when he first played the song for him:
“Pickett ran around the room screaming ‘Womack! You’re crazy! All this hurt comin’ out of you! I’m gonna tell this story!’ He sang it with the feeling I wanted, of someone who was crying out, because he knew my situation.”
Wilson Pickett was backed on the record by the Memphis Boys— Bobby Wood on piano, Bobby Emmons on organ, Reggie Young on guitar, Tommy Cogbill on bass, and Gene Chrisman on drums. King Curtis played tenor sax and Bobby Womack himself played lead guitar. Released as a single in December of 1967, Pickett’s version peaked in early 1968 at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
Bobby Womack recorded his own version of “I’m In Love” (also backed by the Memphis Boys) for his 1969 album, Fly Me to the Moon. His version was not released as a single.
In March of 1974, Aretha Franklin released her version of “I’m In Love.” She was backed by Donny Hathaway and Bob James on keyboards, Cornell Dupree and David Spinozza on guitars, Stanley Clarke on bass, Ralph MacDonald on percussion, and Rick Marotta on drums; Cissy Houston was one of the background singers. Aretha’s version of the song was the most successful of them all, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting #1 for two weeks on Billboard’s R&B chart.
Whomever sings it, “I’m In Love” is a joyful declaration of true and lasting love. I’m partial to Aretha’s version with those soulful, soaring vocals, but I love them all.
