"Love Is a Sometimes Thing" is a song written by

Jan Howard Jan Howard (born Lula Grace Johnson; March 13, 1929 – March 28, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. As a singer, she placed 30 singles on the ''Billboard'' country songs chart, was a Grand Ole Opry member and was nomin ...

. It was first recorded by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in 1970 via

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and became a major hit the same year.

Background and release

"Love Is a Sometimes Thing" was recorded on October 21, 1969, at the Bradley Studio, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. The sessions were produced by Owen Bradley, who would serve as Anderson's producer through most of years with Decca Records. Two additional tracks were recorded during the same recording session: "Not Really Living at All" and "I Don't Have Any Place to Go." The song's composer, Jan Howard, was a frequent musical collaborator of Anderson's. Together, they co-wrote

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

's 1970 hit "

I Never Once Stopped Loving You ''I Never Once Stopped Loving You'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by American country singer Connie Smith. It was released in September 1970 on RCA Victor and contained ten tracks. The collection mixed original material with covers of prev ...

." The pair also recorded several duets together, including the number one hit "

For Loving You "For Loving You" is a 1967 duet by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard. The single was the duo's most successful release. "For Loving You" went to number one on the country charts in four weeks and spent 20 weeks on the chart. Chart performance Bill ...

." "Love Is a Sometimes Thing" was released as a single by Decca Records in January 1970. Anderson's backing band, The Po' Boys, received equal billing on the single's release. The song spent 15 weeks on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

before reaching number five in May 1970. In Canada, the single reached number 10 on the RPM Country Songs chart. It was later released on his 1970 studio album, also called ''

Love Is a Sometimes Thing ''Love Is a Sometimes Thing'' is a studio album by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released in June 1970 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was Anderson's fourteenth studio album since signing with th ...

''.

Track listings

7" vinyl single * "Love Is a Sometimes Thing" – 3:01 * "And I'm Still Missing You" – 2:23

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1970 singles 1970 songs Bill Anderson (singer) songs Decca Records singles Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley Songs written by Jan Howard