Released June 30, 1980 Recorded 1980 Length 3:37 | Format 7" Genre Country | |
B-side "Lyin' Eyes"
(by The Eagles) | ||
for Diesel (musician) song of the same name, see "Lookin' for Love (Diesel song)"
Contents
"Lookin' for Love" is a song written by Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison and Patti Ryan, and recorded by American country music singer Johnny Lee. It was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film Urban Cowboy, released that year. Marcy Levy was one of the female singers who provided backing vocals on the track.
Background
Lee whose biggest hit to date had been a 1977 cover of Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party" had previously been one of the main nightclub acts at Gilley's, a nightclub owned by country music superstar Mickey Gilley. Record executive Irving Azoff offered Lee the chance to record "Lookin' For Love", a song that 20-plus artists had rejected.
Critics were not kind to Lee nor the song. Country music historian Bill Malone once noted that "Lookin' for Love"—in his words, a "lilting little pop song" — became the featured song of Urban Cowboy and a huge commercial hit largely because "actor John Travolta (the movie's co-star) expressed a liking for it." Critic Kurt Wolff panned the song as an example of "watered-down cowboy music."
Public reaction was much better. "Lookin' for Love" rose to No. 1 (for a three-week stay) on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and was a No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit as well. On the US Cash Box Top 100, the song spent two weeks at No. 4.
"Lookin' for Love" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Series
The song was performed by Johnny Lee in an episode of Chips. It could also be heard in two episodes of Dallas. The first one is episode 274 "To Have and to Hold", where it plays at the bar where Bobby Ewing and Kay Lloyd are enjoying each other's company. The second episode is episode 275 "Dead Reckoning", where Ray Krebbs listens to it on his car stereo after dropping off his wife Jenna and her daughter Charlie at the airport.
Cover versions, parodies and tributes
Country music group Sawyer Brown recorded a cover of the song on the 2000 album The Hits Live. This version peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song is also featured in the classic Saturday Night Live sketch Buh-Weet Sings, in which Buckwheat from Our Gang (played by Eddie Murphy) sings the song as "Wookin Pa Nub".
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is titled in tribute to this song ("par'Mach" is defined in the episode as "the Klingon word for love, but with more aggressive overtones").
Al Lowe's second Leisure Suit Larry game, Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (in Several Wrong Places), is named after the song. The song was referenced in Operation Repo in season 11 episode 7.