"Have Love, Will Travel" is a 1959 song written and recorded by Richard Berry. While the song may have been recorded before the end of 1959, the correct release date appears to be January, 1960. The title is based on a popular television/radio western serial ''

Have Gun, Will Travel Have or having may refer to: * the concept of ownership * any concept of ''possession'' * the English verb "to " is used: ** to express possession linguistically, in a broad sense ** as an auxiliary verb ** in constructions such as ''have somet ...

''.

The Sonics version

In its best known incarnation,

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

band

The Sonics The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on Punk rock, punk and Garage rock, garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspir ...

included a "typically intense" version of the song on their 1965 album, '' Here Are The Sonics''. Driven by a riff doubled on guitar, sax and bass, a big driving drum sound, screaming vocals and a saxophone break, it epitomized their sound. The Sonics changed the key from G to C, modified the riff (performing it instrumentally, rather than vocally), and (while they used the original chord progression, a basic 1-4-5-4 progression, G-C-D-C in G, or C-F-G-F in C), the modified riff emphasizes cross-relations of minor/major intervals against the keyboard. The guitar in the Sonics version does not use fuzz-tone, although it seems that some have mistaken the sax for a fuzz-tone guitar. This is the version that virtually all other performers copied after the '60s.

Other versions

*The song was released by

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

as a 1964

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. *Other contemporary 1960s versions include Woody Carr (1964), the Gallahads (1964), the Hollywood Hurricanes (UK, 1964), the Imperialites (1964),

Lee Maye Arthur Lee Maye (December 11, 1934 – July 17, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played eleven seasons in the majors as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves (1959–1965), Houston Astros (1965–1966), Cleveland Indians ...

(1964), the Off-Beats (1964), and Sano and the Saints Five (1966). *

Stiv Bators Steven John Bator (October 22, 1949 – June 4, 1990), known professionally as Stiv Bator and later as Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Youngstown, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and the L ...

as a 1986 B-side. * Crazyhead on a 1989 EP. *

Mojo Nixon Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. (August 2, 1957 – February 7, 2024), known professionally as Mojo Nixon, was an American musician and actor best known for his novelty song "Elvis Is Everywhere", which was an alternative staple on MTV. His style coul ...

and

Skid Roper Skid Roper (born Richard Banke, October 19, 1954, in National City, California, United States) is an American musician, most active in the 1980s and early 1990s. He has recorded with several groups including the surf band The Evasions but is bes ...

on the 1989 album ''Here Ain't The Sonics''. *

Thee Headcoatees Thee Headcoatees were an all-female garage band formed in Chatham, Kent, England in 1991. They were part of the Medway scene. The members were Holly Golightly, Kyra LaRubia, Ludella Black and "Bongo" Debbie Green. Formation Thee Headcoatees ...

on their 1992 album ''Have Love Will Travel''. *

Blood Sausage A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used. In Europe and the ...

on their 1993 release ''Happy Little Bullshit Boy''. *

The Brandos The Brandos are an American rock band formed in 1985 in New York City by Dave Kincaid (vocals, guitar), Ernie Mendillo (bass, vocals), Ed Rupprecht (guitar, vocals) and Larry Mason (drums, vocals). The Brandos achieved commercial success in t ...

on their 1998 release ''Nowhere Zone'' (although it was originally recorded for their ill-fated ''Trial By Fire'' album in 1989). *Blues rockers

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

on their 2003 album ''

Thickfreakness ''Thickfreakness'' is the second studio album by American Rock music, rock duo The Black Keys, released in 2003. It is their debut release for the Fat Possum record label, although in the UK and Europe it was co-released by Epitaph Records. Back ...

'', their 7" vinyl single, and their 2004 EP '' The Moan''. *

Jim Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor and comedian. His television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009), and '' Good Girls Revolt'' (2015–2016). Belushi appeared in fi ...

and the Sacred Hearts in 2005 (who named a tour with

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

"The Have Love Will Travel Revue"). *Danish retro rock band

The Blue Van The Blue Van is a blues rock band from Denmark consisting of ''Steffen Westmark'' (vocals and guitar), ''Søren Christensen'' (keyboard, vocals and guitar), ''Allan Villadsen'' (bass), and ''Per Jørgensen'' (drums and vocals). History The Blue ...

on their 2005 album ''The Art of Rolling''. *Australian pop rock band

The Basics The Basics ( ) are an Australian band, formed by Wally De Backer and Kris Schroeder in 2002, later joined by Tim Heath. Their style has been described as anything from 'indie-pop' to 'rock'n'roll', though their records show they span a wide r ...

covered the song on their 2007 album ''Stand Out/Fit In''. *In 2011,

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

released a version as the lead single from his EP ''

7 Axes ''7 Axes'' is an extended play (EP) (or Mini-LP) by Australian singer songwriter Diesel. It was released in February 2011 and sees Diesel paying homage to the artists and musicians that have inspired him. The EP follows a national tour which Die ...

''. *Dutch

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

band Lefties Soul Connection on their 2011 album ''One Punch Pete'', featuring Flo Mega. *A version by

Sky Saxon Sky "Sunlight" Saxon (born Richard Elvern Marsh; August 20, 1937 – June 25, 2009) was an American rock and roll musician best known as the leader and singer of the 1960s Los Angeles Psychedelic rock, psychedelic garage rock band The Seeds. ...

, lead singer of

The Seeds The Seeds are an American psychedelic garage rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest-charting single " Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic lineup featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Sava ...

, was released in 2011. *

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording ...

performed it at times on their 1988

Tunnel of Love Express The Tunnel of Love Express Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and featuring the E Street Band with the Horns of Love that began at the end of February 1988, four and a half months after the release of Springsteen's October 1987 albu ...

tour; the song appears on a 2015 release from the tour, '' LA Sports Arena, California 1988''. *Australian hip hop group

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) ...

sampled the song in their 2018 track "Leave Me Lonely". * The Jaded Hearts Club covered the song on their debut album "You've Always Been Here". *A version by the indie rock band

The Wallies ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

was released in 2015 with a music video. A different song by the same title, written by Lee Hazlewood, was released by The Sharps in 1958.

Television and movies

*The Sonics version appears in the movies ''

RocknRolla ''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven and ...

'' (2008), '' How To Be'' (2008), ''

Tournée ''On Tour'' () is a 2010 internationally co-produced comedy-drama film directed by Mathieu Amalric. It stars Amalric himself as a producer who brings an American Neo-Burlesque troupe to France, played by genuine performers Mimi Le Meaux, Kitten ...

'' (2010), '' Man Up'' (2015), and ''

Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Da ...

'' (2019), in the trailer for ''

John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American media franchise created by Derek Kolstad. It centers on a neo-noir action thriller film series featuring titular character portrayed by Keanu Reeves. Wick is a legendary hitman who is reluctantly drawn back int ...

'' (2014), and in the television series ''

Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...

'' (2011) and Gloría'' (2021). *The Sonics' version was featured in the launch advert for the then-new

Land Rover Discovery The Land Rover Discovery is a series of five or seven-seater family SUVs, produced under the Land Rover marque, from the British manufacturer Land Rover, and later Jaguar Land Rover. The series is currently in its fifth iteration (or generat ...

in the UK from Autumn-Winter 2004 *Since 2007, a cover by Stefan Ashton Frank has been used by

LV= Liverpool Victoria, trading since May 2007 as LV=, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies. It offers a range of insurance and retirement products. History History The first known meeting of the Liverpool Victoria Friendl ...

, the UK financial services group in its television advertising for car insurance. *

from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

covered the song on their 2007 album Stand Out/Fit In and their 2010 live album, and this version was used in an episode of the

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

series ''

Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word), an expression that refers to the influx of Californians into various western states in the U.S. *Californication (album), ''Californication'' (album), a 1999 album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers ...

''. *The song was used in the BBC series ''Three Men in More Than One Boat''. *The Sonics' version was featured in September 2014 in a promo for season four of the

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

series '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'', and also in October 2014 by ESPN for their tennis broadcast ads. In 2022 it was used in a

Bulleit Bourbon Bulleit Bourbon is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced at the Bulleit Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky and the Bulleit Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky by the Diageo beverage company. It is characterized by a high rye content ...

television ad.

References

{{authority control 1959 songs 1960 songs 1965 singles 2011 singles Richard Berry The Black Keys songs Diesel (musician) songs