First recorded in 1936 by Benny Goodman, ‘The Glory Of Love’ was a track on Paul McCartney’s 2012 album Kisses On The Bottom.
It was written in 1936 by Billy Hill, an American songwriter, violinist and pianist who rose to fame composing popular Western songs. ‘The Glory Of Love’ was Hill’s most popular work.
In 1951 it became a hit for the R&B vocal group The Five Keys. Their version topped the US R&B chart for four non-consecutive weeks, reportedly selling over a million copies. ‘The Glory Of Love’ was also recorded by Big Bill Broonzy, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Eddy Arnold, Otis Redding and Bette Midler, among others.
McCartney found the song problematic when recording it in the studio. In the end Diana Krall suggested an arrangement which brought the song to life.
We did this song, ‘The Glory Of Love’, and it was really the only song that we struggled with a bit. We were just about ready to give up on it, and Diana said, ‘Listen, why don’t we have John Clayton, the bass player, and Paul, just do the first verse?’
The arrangement worked, and ‘The Glory Of Love’ became the fifth song on the album.
Vocal and bass. She just unlocked it with that. At first I thought, ‘Uh-oh, don’t like the sound of this.’ There’s me on the spot, you know. But it was great. It was just John playing, and it just worked. Suddenly the track was done.
In the studio
‘The Glory Of Love’ was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. The rhythm arrangement was by Diana Krall.
Lyrics
You’ve got to give a little, take a little
And let your poor heart break a little
That’s the story of, and that’s the glory of love
Now laugh a little, cry a little
Until the clouds roll by a little
That’s the story of, that’s the glory of love
As long as there’s the two of us
We’ve got the world and all its charms
And when the world is through with us
We’ve got each other’s arms
You’ve got to win a little, lose a little
And always have the blues a little
’cause that’s the story of, yeah that’s the glory of love
As long as there’s the two of us
We’ve got the world and all its charms
But when the world is through with us
We’ve got each other’s arms
You’ve got to win a little, lose a little
And always have the blues a little
’cause that’s the story of, and that’s the glory of love
’cause that’s the story of, and that’s the glory of love
