When you consider that two of the defining musical movements of the late 70s were soft rock and disco, any song combining elements of both certainly had a chance at massive success. “Love Is In The Air”, a Top 10 US hit in 1978, straddled that line beautifully.
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The artist who delivered it, John Paul Young, hailed from Australia. He utilized the talents of a songwriting/production team that well understood how to successfully make the musical journey from Down Under to America.
Doing Damage Down Under
To give you an idea of how established John Paul Young was as a musical force in his native Australia, he had already released a greatest hits album there before the success of “Love Is In The Air”. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t planning on a career in music until some friends convinced him to sing for a local band.
Young made a mark in musical theater in Australia in the early 70s. Along the way, he signed a deal to make solo records. The first of his singles, “Pasadena”, went into the Australian Top 20 in 1972.
Two of the three writers (the third was the British actor David Hemmings) of that track were Harry Vanda and George Young (no relation to the artist). As members of the band The Easybeats, Vanda and Young had scored a US smash in the 60s with “Friday On My Mind”. In the 70s, the pair built a producing/songwriting empire that included AC/DC, featuring George Young’s brothers Malcolm and Angus. John Paul Young soon became a part of that empire.
The Pathway to “Love”
John Paul Young minted six Top 20 hits in Australia from 1975 to 1977. Meanwhile, a B-side called “Standing In The Rain” found life of its own on German radio. Wanting to take advantage of the newfound exposure there, the producers and the artist looked to create a track that gave off Euro-disco vibes.
After constructing the basic track, the Vanda/Young team chose “Love In The Air” from a book of potential titles that they had amassed and decided to use that as a jumping-off point. They instructed John Paul Young to give a restrained performance, acting as if the points espoused in the song were matter-of-fact.
“Love Is In The Air” was released at the end of 1977. Little by little, it began to work its way through world markets. It eventually crept into the United States as well and made it all the way to No. 7 on the US charts in 1978.
Behind the Lyrics of “Love Is In The Air”
John Paul Young repeats the title phrase at the beginning of every verse of “Love Is In The Air”, a clever way of highlighting the ubiquity of the emotion. It’s “every sight and every sound,” “in the whisper of the trees,” and “in the risin’ in the sun.”
The narrator takes the time to occasionally wonder about it all. “And I don’t know if I’m just dreaming,” he says. “Don’t know if I feel sane.” He concludes that he should trust it. “But it’s something that I must believe in.” Later, he changes the word in that line from “it’s” to “you’re,” making clear that a special someone has brought these feelings to life for him.
John Paul Young never scored another American hit, and his success in his home country waned after that as well. Still, his most famous song earned a second life when it appeared in the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom. And we choose to believe that, yes, “Love Is In The Air” still, at least if you know how to spot it.
Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage
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