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"Let Your Love Flow" is the debut single by
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 Bellamy Brothers The Bellamy Brothers are an American pop and country music duo consisting of brothers David Milton Bellamy (born September 16, 1950) and Homer Howard Bellamy (born February 2, 1946), from Dade City, Florida. The duo had considerable musical suc ...
, recorded in the autumn of 1975 and released in January 1976. The song was written by Larry E. Williams and produced by
Phil Gernhard Phillip Arnold Gernhard (February 5, 1940 – February 22, 2008) was an American record producer, record label executive, and songwriter. He is best known for his successful collaborations in the 1960s and 1970s with Maurice Williams and the Zo ...
and
Tony Scotti Anthony Joseph Scotti (born December 22, 1939) is an American actor, television and film producer, and co-founder of Scotti Brothers Records. He is married to French singer Sylvie Vartan. Early life Scotti and his brother Ben both played foot ...
. It became an international hit, reaching number one in several countries including the United States and Germany, while reaching the top ten in at least nine others including the United Kingdom and Australia.


History

The song's composer, Larry E. Williams, had been a roadie for
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
's live shows, and "Let Your Love Flow" had been published by Bicycle Music, which had been founded by the singer and owned Diamond's own catalog. On Diamond's apparent disinterest in recording the song himself, Howard Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers has commented "it really wasn't in his e. Diamond'svein." According to Howard, Johnny Rivers had also passed on "Let Your Love Flow". The song as recorded by
Gene Cotton Gene Cotton (born June 30, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American pop and folk singer-songwriter. He is best known for his four ''Billboard'' top 40 entries during the years 1976–1978. In the UK, he is most famous for the song "Me and the El ...
was a single release in the autumn of 1975, making Cotton's version - featured on his 1976 album release ''For All the Young Writers'' - the earliest released version of "Let Your Love Flow," although it is unclear if Cotton's recording was made prior to that by the Bellamy Brothers. The Bellamy Brothers - siblings David and Howard Bellamy from
Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pa ...
- had been working as session musicians at the Studio 70 recording studio in Tampa when a demo of a song written by David, " Spiders and Snakes", was optioned for Jim Stafford, whose 1973 recording became a million-selling hit single. On the recommendation of Stafford's producer
Phil Gernhard Phillip Arnold Gernhard (February 5, 1940 – February 22, 2008) was an American record producer, record label executive, and songwriter. He is best known for his successful collaborations in the 1960s and 1970s with Maurice Williams and the Zo ...
, the Bellamy Brothers relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a recording career. The duo initially stayed with Stafford in the Hollywood house whose purchase Stafford's success with "Spiders and Snakes" had made possible, and for a time Howard acted as Stafford's road manager while Gernhard arranged for David to record as a solo act for the Warner Bros. Records affiliate
Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of MG ...
with a resultant regional hit, "Nothin' Heavy", #77 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the autumn of 1975. David Bellamy's recording sessions featured members of Neil Diamond's band, including drummer Dennis St John, and it was St John who recommended "Let Your Love Flow" to the Bellamys. Howard Bellamy recalls that Dennis St John "one day...came over to our house and brought the demo of 'Let Your Love Flow' and said: 'Hey, this sounds like something you guys would do.'" David Bellamy recalls St John mentioning the song as appropriate for the Bellamys to record, but that St John sent the demo of the song to Phil Gernhard: David Bellamy (quote) - "the next day I went to Phil's office and listened to it. I hencalled Howard and said :'I’ve got to play you this song!'" David further states: "We went back in with Neil's band" - to the Wally Heider Recording Studio in Hollywood - "and cut the song. We got the right key, the band hooked it right away and we probably didn’t do more than two or three takes on the whole session. It was the perfect song for us and became the key to our career." "Let Your Love Flow" reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated 1 May 1976, also crossing-over to the ''Billboard'' chart rankings for Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks with a peak of #2, and also for Hot Country Singles with a peak of #21. According to David Bellamy (quote): "There were a couple of guys from Holland .e. the Netherlandswho were in town when the single was released, and our record company gave it to them to take home and they also sent it to Germany", and "Let Your Love Flow" would in fact debut at #22 on the Dutch Top 30 chart dated 6 March 1976, the same date as the track's ''Billboard''
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
debut at #38: the track would eventually peak at #6 on both the Dutch chart and Belgium's Flemish chart. In June and July 1976 "Let Your Love Flow" spent five weeks at #1 in Germany and also in Switzerland, while the track would be ranked at #1 on the monthly Austrian hit parades dated the 15th of August, September and October. "Let Your Love Flow" was afforded further European success with a seven-week tenure at #2 in both Norway and Sweden, while in the British Isles the track achieved chart peaks of #7 in the UK and #3 in Ireland. "Let Your Love Flow" also reached #1 on the hit parade for South Africa, #2 in New Zealand and #6 in Australia.


Revival and use in media

In 2008 and 2009 "Let Your Love Flow" enjoyed a UK chart renaissance when it was featured in a television ad for
Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
promoting the bank's Barclaycard in its contactless format. Filmed in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
and
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...
, the ad's focus was on an office clerk - played by
Robert Wilfort Robert Kenneth Wilfort (born 2 June 1977) is a Welsh actor from Porthcawl, who has made many appearances on British television and film. He is best known for his role as Jason West in ''Gavin & Stacey'' His other television appearances have in ...
- who utilizes his Barclaycard while traveling home on a waterslide, a metaphor for the ease with which the card may be used. The ad was first aired 25 October 2008, and two weeks later "Let Your Love Flow" re-entered the UK Top 100 singles chart dated 8 November 2008 at #48, with the track eventually peaking at #21 over a six-week tenure with subsequent UK chart tenures of five weeks in February/ March 2009 (peak #48) and three weeks that summer (#76). Speaking for the Bellamy Brothers, David Bellamy would state: "We had no idea the song 'Let Your Love Flow' had been licensed to Barclay for an advertisement ntilafter the single started climbing the charts in England. Any artist is always thrilled when one of your signature songs has longevity like this because it was thirty-two years ago when we first released the tune. We’ve always had such faithful fans in Europe, like we do in the United States, but with the single charting again we’re introducing our music to a whole new generation of music lovers." In other media, "Let Your Love Flow" was featured in the 1980
Tatum O'Neal Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...
film '' Little Darlings'', the 1998 comedy ''
Slums of Beverly Hills ''Slums of Beverly Hills'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tamara Jenkins, and starring Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, David Krumholtz, Kevin Corrigan, Jessica Walter and Carl Reiner. The story follows a te ...
'', the 2008 period drama ''
Swingtown ''Swingtown'' is an American drama television series created by Mike Kelley as a summer replacement series for CBS aired from June 5 to September 5, 2008. The show was a period and relationship drama about the impact of sexual and social liber ...
,'' and season 2 episode 'No Room at the Inn' of the HBO series '' The Leftovers''. The song was featured in Fernando Livschitz's short film titled ''AR 1304''. Joan Baez's version was featured in the 2019 film ''Can You Keep a Secret?'' over the end credits. "Let Your Love Flow" has been covered by numerous other artists, most notably
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...
, who included it on her 1979 ''
Honest Lullaby ''Honest Lullaby'' is the nineteenth studio album (and twenty-first overall) by Joan Baez, released in 1979. It would be her final album on CBS Records' Portrait imprint; it also stood as her last studio album issued in the U.S. until the release ...
'' album. Another re-recording by the Bellamy brothers with
Gölä Marco Pfeuti (born 1968 in Oppligen near Thun), better known by his stage name Gölä, is a popular Swiss rock musician performing mainly in Bernese German. Career The debut album of Gölä's eponymous band ''Uf u dervo'' (1998; en, Up and Away ...
is included on the album ''The Greatest Hits Sessions''. ''"Ein Bett im Kornfeld"'', a
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
adaptation of the song recorded by Jürgen Drews, spent six weeks at #1 in West Germany in 1976, immediately subsequent to the five-week #1 tenure of the Bellamy Brothers' original. The Jamaican singer John Holt did a
lovers rock Lovers' rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...
cover version of "Let Your Love Flow" in 1982, which saw major label release as a 7" single in West Germany on Teldec Records.


Chart performance


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


References

{{authority control 1976 songs 1976 debut singles The Bellamy Brothers songs Gene Cotton songs Joan Baez songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland Warner Records singles Curb Records singles