This 1975 Rock Hit Was This Band’s Successful Attempt to Not Become a One-Hit Wonder

When Bad Company set out to record their follow-up album to their eponymous, chart-topping debut album, they were facing potential pressures from all sides—not the least of which was the impetus to make an equally successful second album that would save them from earning the double-edged “one-hit wonder” description.

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First, Bad Company was a bona fide supergroup with Free, Mott the Hoople, and King Crimson alumni. Second, they were recent signees to rock ‘n’ roll giants Led Zeppelin’s record label, Swan Song. Expectations from the band, the label, and the public were incredibly high.

Lastly, and most importantly, if their sophomore release failed to replicate their initial success, they risked their career as a band fizzling out altogether. Needless to say, there was a healthy fire under them as they headed into the studio in the fall of 1974.

Bad Company Found Repeat Success With This 1975 Hit

“The mood was good then,” Paul Rodgers recalled to Uncut. “We were charged and excited to follow the success of the first album. Peter Grant [manager to Bad Company and Led Zeppelin] had just presented us with our gold albums, so ‘euphoric’ would be putting it mildly.” But, Simon Kirke added, there was an underlying sense of doubt. “We had to prove that we weren’t a one-hit wonder and that this follow-up to the Bad Company album would stand on its own merit,” he explained. “There was a little apprehension.”

While the pressure not to become a one-hit wonder was undoubtedly weighing heavily on Bad Company, their fears quickly dissolved after the release of their second album, Straight Shooter. Tracks like “Shooting Star” and “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” became popular cuts on rock radio. But the most successful cut from the album was by far the second track: the part-easygoing-country-rocker, part-stadium-machismo-anthem, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”.

The breezy verses of the song came from Rodgers, while the heavy riffs in the chorus came from Mick Ralphs. “I suggested we put the two together to create the song,” Ralphs remembered. “I think that’s the feel of the song. The verses are very appealing to the ladies, probably more than the men, and then the riff comes in, which is all bloody macho. It’s a big chorus, and it worked out really well.”

Indeed, it did. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” saved Bad Company from the dreaded one-hit wonder description, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and proving to themselves, Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and the rest of the world that their initial success wasn’t a fluke.

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