"I'm in Love" is a song written by Bobby Womack. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett in 1967, which gave him a top-ten R&B hit on ''Billboard'''s chart in 1968, peaking at number 4 as well as peaking at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

"I'm in Love" was written in response to some of the criticism he had been receiving after marrying the widow of the recently deceased

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

Cover versions

*Womack himself recorded his version of the song in 1968 shortly after Pickett's version was released and included it on his 1969 album, ''

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions ...

''. *The version to achieve the most success came in 1974, when

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

released it as a single. Her version hit number 1 on Billboard's R&B chart for two weeks and also peaked at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Wilson Pickett's version is most recently used as the back-track for Nature of the Beast's "When It's Good". *

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

covered the song in concert in the early 1980s, and a version is featured on their set ''

The Live Anthology ''The Live Anthology'' is a live box set by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The box set was released by Reprise Records on November 23, 2009, in a number of formats, with the standard CD and download formats, composed of 48 ...

''.

Personnel

;Wilson Pickett version *Produced by Tommy Cogbill & Tom Dowd * Wilson Pickett - vocals * Gene Chrisman - drums *Tommy Cogbill - electric bass *

Bobby Emmons Bobby Gene Emmons (February 19, 1943 – February 23, 2015) was an American keyboard player and songwriter. He was an active session musician in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the keyboardist of The Memphis Boys, playing keyboards on tracks by E ...

- organ *Bobby Wood - piano * Bobby Womack - lead guitar *

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

- additional guitar * Charlie Chalmers - tenor saxophone * King Curtis - tenor saxophone *

Gene "Bowlegs" Miller Gene "Bowlegs" Miller (May 27, 1933 – December 25, 1987) was an American trumpeter and band leader. Biography Miller performed in clubs on Beale Street, in Memphis, Tennessee, when that area was a flourishing center of nightlife, playing with suc ...

- trumpet * Floyd Newman - baritone saxophone ;Bobby Womack version *Produced by

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums lik ...

*Bobby Womack - vocals, guitar, musical arrangement *Gene Chrisman - drums *Bobby Emmons - organ *Mike Leech - bass, musical arrangement *Bobby Wood - piano *Reggie Young - guitar ;Aretha Franklin versionFranklin, Aretha. "Let Me in Your Life" (Original Album Notes). Atlantic. 1974. *

- lead vocals * Judy Clay - background vocals *

Gwen Guthrie Gwendolyn Guthrie (July 9, 1950 – February 3, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made fa ...

- background vocals *

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

- background vocals *Deidre Tuck - background vocals *William Eaton - orchestral arrangement *

Stan Clarke Stanley Martin Clarke (born August 9, 1960) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He spent parts of six seasons in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and St. Louis Cardinals. A native of T ...

- bass * Cornell Dupree - guitar *

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

- acoustic piano * Bob James - additional keyboards * Ralph MacDonald - percussion * Rick Marotta - drums * Gene Orloff - concertmaster * David Spinozza - guitar

References

1974 singles Wilson Pickett songs Aretha Franklin songs Songs written by Bobby Womack Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler 1960s songs Atlantic Records singles Year of song missing 1968 singles Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin {{1970s-single-stub