"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" is a 1974 R&B song written by Michael Price and Dan Walsh, and first recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland for the ABC Dunhill album '' Dreamer''.

Background

While it is ostensibly a love song, some critics and fans have also heard it as a lament on urban poverty and hopelessness, as well as a lament upon the struggle to achieve one's goals in life in the absence of external support. "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" remains a cult favorite, and is considered a classic.

Chart performance

In the US, Bland scored a top ten hit on the Hot Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at #9, as well as peaking at #91 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

Cover versions and samples

It is known through several cover versions and samples: *A well-known cover of the song is by the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band Whitesnake, who included it on their

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

debut EP, '' Snakebite'', and again as a live recording on '' Live...in the Heart of the City''. The cover was the new band's first hit, and it became a staple of their live set. *For his

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

album '' The Blueprint'', rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

recorded the song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," a Kanye West-produced track built around a sample of Bobby Bland's chartmaking rendition. Other notable cover versions have been recorded by: * Bobby Bazini - on his sophomore album “Where I Belong”(folk/soul, 2014) *The cover version by reggae singer Al Brown even changes most of the lyrics to magnify the emphasis of the lyrics. * Barrett Strong (R&B,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

) * Café Jacques - on the album ''Round the Back (rock, 1977) * Grady Tate (jazz,

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

) * Long John Baldry (blues, 1977) *

Kate Taylor Kate Taylor (born August 15, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She is the younger (and only) sister of renowned singer-songwriter James Taylor, a six-time Grammy winner. Biography Taylor was born ...

(rock,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

) *

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sist ...

(country, 1980) * Herman Brood (rock,

Bühnensucht ''Bühnensucht'' is a live album by Dutch rock and roll and blues group Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. The album reached No.41 on the Dutch album chart on 5 October 1985, and stayed on the chart for six weeks. The album was re-released on CD b ...

, live recording, 1985) * Chris Farlowe (R&B,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) *Ruthless Blues (blues,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

) *

Walter "Wolfman" Washington Walter "Wolfman" Washington (December 20, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. While his roots were in blues music, he blended in the essence of funk and R&B to cre ...

(New Orleans R&B, on 1991 album Sada) * The Good Earth (pop/rock, 1994) *

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, B ...

(rock,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

) * Jørn Lande (hard rock, The Snakes live in Europe 1998) * Paul Weller (rock, 1998) *

Willie Clayton Willie Clayton (born March 29, 1955) is an American Chicago blues and soul-blues singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 25 albums since the 1980s. He has been performing since the late 1960s. His chart successes span the decades from the 19 ...

(R&B,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, as "Heart of the City") *

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

(on the album '' The Blueprint'', as "Heart of City (Ain't No Love)", 2001) * Mary Coughlan (jazz,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) *DJ Andrew Unknown & DJ Mekalek (hip hop/rap (intro), 2002) * Joey Tempest (rock/metal,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

) * Maggie Bell (rock,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, live recording) * Vaya Con Dios (rock, 2004) * YTcracker (From the "STC Is the Greatest" album, track #16, "spamcity", 2004) * Joe Budden (Rap, 2007) *

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(Blue-Eyed Soul, Pop/Rock, 2008) * Allman Brothers (Blues, 2009 live recording) *

Nicky Moore Nicholas Charles Moore (21 June 1947 – 3 August 2022) was an English blues, rock and heavy metal singer, who was best known as a member of the British band Samson. He replaced Bruce Dickinson who left the band to join Iron Maiden in 1982. ...

(blues rock, 2009) * GRiZ (sampled on the song "Where's The Love" on the album Mad Liberation, 2012) * Lukas Graham (Blue-Eyed Soul,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

as "Daddy, Now That You're Gone (Ain't No Love)") *

Jo Harman And Company Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from '' Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from '' Lambs Anger'' * Jo a fict ...

(blues, on the album ''Live At The Royal Albert Hall'' Recorded 2013, released 2014) *

Dana Fuchs Dana Fuchs (pronounced Fyooks, born January 10, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter known for a mix of Southern rock, soul, roots, and blues. She is also an actor. ''The New York Times'' Stephen Holden called Fuchs' performance in the film ...

(On album "Broken Down, acoustic sessions" 2015) *

Shane Pacey Trio Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a ...

(On album, "Helios" 2016) * Supersonic Blues Machine (On the album "West of flushing south of frisco" 2016) *

C.S. Armstrong CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public s ...

(On album, "Ain't No Love" 2016) *

Zeshan B Zeshan Bagewadi (born June 27, 1987), known professionally as Zeshan B, is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and recording artist from Chicago, Illinois. His debut album ''Vetted'' was released on April 7, 2017. Bagewadi was ...

(On album, "Vetted" 2017) *

Black Pumas Black Pumas is an American psychedelic soul band based in Austin, Texas, led by singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/ producer Adrian Quesada. The group received its first Grammy Award nomination in 2020 for Best New Artist. History In 20 ...

(On the album ''Black Pumas Deluxe Edition Exclusive 2LP+7"'', released 2020) * DJ Khaled (Sampled on the intro track "THANKFUL", on the album ''

KHALED KHALED ''Khaled Khaled'' is the twelfth studio album by American record producer DJ Khaled. It was released through We the Best Music and Epic Records on April 30, 2021. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Jeremih, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, ...

'', released 2021) * Gov't Mule (on the album 'Heavy Load Blues', released 2021) *

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...

(on album "Midnight Scorchers", released 2022)

Popular culture

*Jay-Z's version of the song was used in the trailer for the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

film '' American Gangster'', in a 2011

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

commercial, as the theme song for the CBS series ''

NYC 22 ''NYC 22'' (pronounced NYC 2-2) is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on CBS from April 15 to August 11, 2012, as a mid-season replacement for ''CSI: Miami''. On May 13, 2012, CBS canceled the series after one season ...

'' and a Crown Royal commercial in 2013. *The song is featured in the 2009 video game DJ Hero, in "mashed-up" form. *The song is played over the opening credits of the 2019 Norwegian time-travel fantasy

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series ''

Beforeigners ''Beforeigners'' is a Norwegian television series that premiered on 21 August 2019. The show was created and written by Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad, and directed by Jens Lien. Produced by Rubicon TV AS for HBO Nordic, it is the first Norwe ...

''. *The song is featured on the soundtracks to the 2009 film ''

Fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

'', the 2011 crime drama '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' and is also featured in the 2017 movie '' The Hitman’s Bodyguard''. *The song is featured in episode 5 of Sex Education. *The song is also featured in season five of the Netflix series, Last Chance U, which focuses on the lives of Laney College football players and staff within Oakland, CA.

Charts

Whitesnake

References

{{authority control 1974 songs 1978 songs Whitesnake songs Hard rock ballads Rhythm and blues ballads United Artists Records singles Geffen Records singles EMI Records singles Liberty Records singles