"Love Will Show Us How" is a song by Christine McVie, released as the second single from her eponymous second solo album in 1984. The song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 32 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and received medium rotation on MTV.[2]
| "Love Will Show Us How" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Christine McVie | ||||
| from the album Christine McVie | ||||
| A-side | "Love Will Show Us How" | |||
| B-side | "The Challenge" | |||
| Released | 20 April 1984[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Christine McVie, Todd Sharp | |||
| Christine McVie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe instrumental basis of "Love Will Show Us How" emerged from a demo tape recorded by McVie and her ex-husband John McVie with piano and bass.[3] Todd Sharp, who co-wrote "Love Will Show Us How" with McVie, recalled that it was originally conceived as a soft acoustic song. "That one really birthed itself and I think surprised us both when it became the song that it did."[4] McVie and Sharp spent some time refining the riff and supplemented the song with lyrics the following day.[3] Prior to its release on the album, an excerpt of "Love Will Show Us How" appeared on a promotional 7-inch flexi disc.[5]
Music video
editJoe Bergman of Warner Records contacted Teri Schwartz about producing a music video for McVie with a concept of "everything go[ing] wrong". Allan Arkush served as the director of the music video along with Schwartz, who were both part of Robert Abel and Associates, who had previously shot the music video for Bette Midler's cover version of "Beast of Burden". "Love Will Show Us How" was the third music video made by Robert Abel and the Associates.[6][7]
Arkush worked with Schwartz to develop a music video with the intention of appealing to both regular MTV viewers and older fans of pop music. McVie agreed to the concept of creating a "wacky way-out video" for "Love Will Show Us How", which according to Schwartz, demonstrated "a lot about what kind of humor she has".[6] Sharp spent most of the day suspended up 30 feet in the air and pulled off a stunt with an exploding guitar.[4] During the scene, Sharp loses control of his short-circuiting guitar and drops the instrument on McVie's piano, causing it to erupt in flames.[6] A medic and fire marshal were on the set during the shooting of the music video. Sharp recounted the events of the filming session in a 2000 Q&A.
"It was not really a fun day for me as I spent most of it on a lift 30 feet in the air. (I'm terrified of heights), had an exploding guitar (I'm terrified of exploding things) and I'm sure at the end of that long day of inhaling fog juice I went home and went to bed.[4]
The music video opens with dialogue from a fictitious director name Paul Le Grande, who was played by Paul Bartel.[6][8] It begins with Le Grande explaining his premise for the music video's storyboard to McVie, who questions the merits of Le Grande's ideas. As described by Clint Goldman, some "soap opera organ music" plays as Le Grande says "Christine...trust me", which then segues into "Love Will Show Us How".[6]
Various special effects were included in the music video, including 3600 pounds of dry ice that fogged up the entire room. One scene included choreographed moves from people dressed in hearts, dubbed the "Love Dancers". The music video concludes with an alien spaceship that lands on McVie's piano.[6] On 5 July 1984, the music video for "Love Will Show Us How" later appeared on Christine McVie: The Video Album, a 60 minute home video that also featured a live Christine McVie concert from a live MTV special.[9][10]
Critical reception
editIn March 1984, one month before "Love Will Show Us How" was released as a single, Don Shewey of Rolling Stone called the song "Beatlesque" and identified it as having the potential to befuture single.[11] Cash Box said that the song "is a thoroughly upbeat tune with a stiff tempo and smooth backup harmonies" and that "the one-of-a-kind McVie vocal is like smoke and satin."[12] Billboard described McVie's vocals as "warm", which sounded "right at home" in the song's "punchy rock setting".[13] John Swenson of Creem thought that "Love Will Show Us How" was "harder edged and simpler than a Fleetwood Mac song."[14]
Personnel
edit- Christine McVie – keyboards, lead vocals
- Todd Sharp – guitars, backing vocals
- George Hawkins – bass, backing vocals
- Steve Ferrone – drums, tambourine
Charts
edit| Chart (1984-1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 30 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary[2] | 32 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] | 24 |
References
edit- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 32.
- ^ a b "Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart" (PDF). Billboard. 23 June 1984. pp. 3, 25. Retrieved 31 December 2024 – via World Radio History.
- ^ a b {{cite AV media |url=https://archive.org/details/full-christine-1984-documentary |title=Christine McVie 1984 MTV Documentary |date=22 January 1984 |medium=Documentary |language=en |time=8:55–9:22|publisher=MTV|access-date=26 December 2024 |archive-url= |archive-date= |via=the Internet Archive}
- ^ a b c "Todd Sharp, January 18 - 31, 2000 - Section 2". The Penguin. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ Binnie, Steve (2018). Sound of the Crowd: A Discography of the '80s (4th ed.). Cuckoohead Creative. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-244-12965-1 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f Goldman, Clint (18 May 1984). "Making Fun of Music Videos". Back Stage. pp. 32B – 33B – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Vare, Ethlie Ann (6 May 1984). "Arkush Will Direct McVie's Next Video". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Vol. 54, no. 127. p. 15. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ Takiff, Jonathan (18 May 1984). "Fleeing the Mac, Christine McVie goes solo". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 43. Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Christine McVie: The Video Album" (PDF). Billboard. 2 June 1984. p. 5. Retrieved 30 December 2024 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Simels, Steve (1985). "Christine McVie in Concert". In Hajdu, David (ed.). Video Review's Best on Home Video (1st ed.). United States: Viare Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 0-385-23110-5. Retrieved 6 January 2025 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Shewey, Don (15 March 1984). "Christine McVie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 28 April 1984. p. 15. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "Billboard Singles Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. 12 May 1984. p. 56. Retrieved 31 December 2024 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Swenson, John (May 1984). "Records – CHRISTINE McVIE". Creem. Vol. 15, no. 12. p. 56. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025 – via the Online Creem Archive.
- ^ "Christine McVie Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Christine McVie Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
External links
edit- Listen to this song on YouTube