"Love Can Build a Bridge" is a song written by

Naomi Judd Naomi Judd (born Diana Ellen Judd; January 11, 1946 – April 30, 2022) was an American singer and actress. In 1980, she and her daughter Wynonna (born Christina Claire) formed the duo known as The Judds, which became a very successful country ...

Paul Overstreet Paul Lester Overstreet (born March 17, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He recorded 10 studio albums between 1982 and 2005, and charted 16 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts, including two ...

, and

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954 in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mov ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

duo

the Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...

. It was released in 1990 as the second single and title track from their album of the same name. It was a top-five country hit in mid-1991. The song was later covered by ''Children for Rwanda'' as a charity single in aid of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, reaching number 57 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in September 1994. A new version recorded by American singers

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

and

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

, Swedish singer

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...

, and British singer-guitarist

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

was released as 1995's official

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

single. This version topped the UK Singles Chart for one week in March 1995; it was Cher's and Hynde's second solo UK number-one hit and the only UK number-one single for both Cherry and Clapton.

Content and composition

The song is about the importance of always standing together, and was co-written by

and dedicated to the Judd family and fans as almost a goodbye, as at the time Naomi was chronically ill with Hepatitis-C and was forced to retire as it had been speculated that she had only three years left to live. "Love Can Build a Bridge" is performed in the key of

B major B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 66 beats per minute in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

. The vocals span from E₃ to D₅.

Charts and sales

The Judds version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Naomi & Wynonna: Love Can Build a Bridge
at Internet Movie Database {{Authority control 1990 singles 1990 songs 1995 singles Cher songs Comic Relief singles Country ballads Curb Records singles Eric Clapton songs The Judds songs London Records singles Neneh Cherry songs Number-one singles in Scotland Pop ballads RCA Records Nashville singles Song recordings produced by Brent Maher Songs written by John Barlow Jarvis Songs written by Naomi Judd Songs written by Paul Overstreet UK Singles Chart number-one singles