"Who's Making Love" is a song written by

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

staffers

Homer Banks Homer Banks (August 2, 1941 – April 3, 2003) was an African American songwriter, singer and record producer. Although best known by many for his songwriting for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s, some of his own releases from the 1960s are co ...

Bettye Crutcher Bettye Jean Crutcher (September 16, 1939 – October 20, 2022) was an American songwriter. She was a staff writer for Stax Records.Peter Barker"Bettye Crutcher, Stax Records contributor and pioneering songwriter, dies at 83" ''Tennessee News'', ...

, Don Davis and Raymond Jackson and recorded by singer

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor was ...

in 1968. Released on the Stax label in the late summer of 1968, it became Taylor's breakthrough single, reaching number one on the US ''

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 ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

and number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It became one of the few singles Taylor would become primarily known for in the mainstream. The song featured the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

(on keyboards). It was Taylor's best-selling single before the release of "

Disco Lady "Disco Lady" is a 1976 single by American singer Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and six weeks on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart in the U.S. It was also the first sing ...

" almost a decade later. According to Bettye Crutcher, the lyrics were inspired by the 1920s

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

, "Who Takes Care of the Caretaker's Daughter (While the Caretaker's Busy Taking Care)".

Chart history

Cover versions

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ma ...

covered the song on his 1968 album ''

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

''. *

Young-Holt Unlimited Young-Holt Unlimited (also known as Young-Holt Trio), were a U.S. soul and jazz instrumental musical ensemble from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt and bassist Eldee Young, formerly members of Ramsey Lewis' jazz trio, ...

released a cover on the album ''Soulful Strut'' in 1968 and as a single in 1969 (#47 Canada), both on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing produ ...

. *

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

released a cover version as a single in 1980, which reached number 39 on the US chart. *

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

included the song in his 2013 album '' Out Here''.

References

{{Authority control 1968 singles Johnnie Taylor songs Tony Joe White songs Songs written by Homer Banks 1980 singles The Blues Brothers songs Songs written by Raymond Jackson (songwriter) Songs written by Don Davis (record producer) 1968 songs Stax Records singles Songs about infidelity Song recordings produced by Don Davis (record producer)