"What You Won't Do for Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bobby Caldwell. It was released in September 1978 as the lead single from his eponymous debut album (1978). It was written by Caldwell and Alfons Kettner, and produced by Ann Holloway. The song has been covered and sampled numerous times, including by Tupac Shakur in the posthumous 1998 hit "Do for Love".
Background and release
After gaining a reputation in Miami clubs as a talented musician, Caldwell was signed to an exclusive contract with TK Records in 1978 by TK Records president Henry Stone. Heading to the studio, Caldwell recorded his first album, which was given a redo after Stone felt the album was good but "didn't have a hit". Caldwell returned to the studio and came up with the final product, which included "What You Won't Do for Love". The song's horn arrangement was written and recorded by Miami arranger Mike Lewis. The song is in the key of F-sharp minor (although the pitch of the commercial track is slightly flat – i.e., below concert pitch – perhaps due to tape machine speed variation).
Caldwell wanted the song to be the sixth track on the album since he figured his debut album's second track, "My Flame", which featured him playing guitar, would be the hit. However, TK Records felt confident that "What You Won't Do for Love" would be the breakout hit. When it was released to R&B radio, TK Records did their best to hide Caldwell's racial identity, hoping not to alienate their predominantly African American audience. However, when Caldwell began making performances live onstage, demand only increased.
Chart performance
The song would become Caldwell's most successful single and also his signature song, reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, number six on the Hot Selling Soul Singles chart, and number ten on the Easy Listening chart.[2] In Canada the song reached number 16 on the pop charts,[3] and number 24 on the AOR charts.[4]
According to the broadcast of American Top 40 for the week ending February 3, 1979, the week in which the song debuted at No. 38 on the Top 40, a heart-shaped pressing of the single was the most expensive single up to that point. The heart-shaped single was originally released as a promotional item only, but public demand led to 50,000 copies being pressed in time for Valentine's Day 1979 with a retail price of $7.98—about the price of a full LP album at the time.[5]
After Caldwell's death on March 14, 2023, "What You Won't Do for Love" saw an increase in popularity. In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 86 on the Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 on March 17, 2023.[6]
Personnel
Bobby Caldwell – lead and backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar
Dorothy Moore American Blues,R&B,And Gospel Singer released a version of "What You Won't Do For Love" on her 1992 album, "Stay Close To Home" on Malaco Records
Jessie Ware covered the song on the Deluxe Edition of her 2013 album Devotion.
Snoh Aalegra
Snoh Aalegra released a cover of the song under the title "Do 4 Love" as a Spotify Single in October 2019, and Black Coffee remixed the track, releasing it in 2023.
Gus Dapperton
Singer and producer Gus Dapperton released a version in spring 2024.
In 2024, L-Side and Makoto remixed the song for the release of What You Won't Do For Love which also features Frank H. Carter III.
In popular culture
The song plays over the ending of the Black-ish episode "Love, Boat" to both punctuate a romantic scene as well as make reference to an earlier line in the episode where Dre recalls the time he comforted his mother after she learned Bobby Caldwell was white.
In 2024, the song gained a resurgence of popularity after a TikTok video was released with a video of chocolate-covered strawberries went viral. [35] At that time, when it is edited, it received over 50 million likes and over 450 million views, making it one of the most liked TikTok videos. This caused the song to surge to number #1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for one week. [36]
References
^ abcMolanphy, Chris (July 31, 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 97.
^"New Releases: Singles". Music Week. December 26, 1992. p. 23.
^"Go West ARIA chart history complete to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 20 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
^"The Year in Music 1993"(PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 52. December 25, 1993. p. YE-46. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.