Released August 22, 1970 Genre Pop, baroque pop Label Bell | Format 7" single Length 2:54 | |
B-side "Somebody Wants to Love You"
"To Be Lovers" (Philippines) | ||
"I Think I Love You" is a song composed by songwriter Tony Romeo in 1970. It was released as the debut single by The Partridge Family pop group, featuring David Cassidy on lead vocals and Shirley Jones on background vocals. The Partridge Family version was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1970. The alternative rock band Voice of the Beehive scored a hit cover version of their own in 1991. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, most notably, Perry Como, Kaci, Katie Cassidy, Paul Westerberg, Constantine Maroulis, and the new In Search of the Partridge Family cast on VH1.
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Background and release
The single was produced by Wes Farrell and issued on Bell Records a month before the debut of the network television musical sitcom The Partridge Family. During the show's first season the song was featured on the show twice as it was climbing the actual Billboard charts. The single hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and in Canada on the RPM 100 national Top Singles chart in November of that year and number 1 in Australia in 1971.
The only cast members of the television show to actually sing on the recording of the song were David Cassidy and Shirley Jones. The music on the song was played by veteran studio musicians such as Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborne, Louie Shelton, Tommy Tedesco, and other L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew. Background vocals on this, and all other Partridge Family recordings, were provided by veteran session singers: Ron Hicklin, John Bahler, Tom Bahler, and Jackie Ward.
The Partridge Family won a NARM award for the best-selling single of the year in 1970 for their hit "I Think I Love You".
Perry Como version
On November 25, 1970, "I Think I Love You" was recorded by Perry Como, with Nick Perito's orchestra, at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The song was released by RCA Victor Records on an album, It's Impossible, in December 1970, and reissued in 1975. RCA also released the recording on an EP in Mexico in 1971.
Voice of the Beehive version
In 1991, the alternative rock band Voice of the Beehive recorded a cover version of "I Think I Love You" for the group's second studio album Honey Lingers. It was released as the second single from their album on London Records and was produced by Don Was. Their version of the song hit number 25 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1991. The single also hit number 12 on the Australian singles chart in March 1992.