Harman Patil (Editor)

Thin Line Between Love and Hate

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B-side
  
"Thigh Spy"

Format
  
7" (45 rpm)

Length
  
3:16

Released
  
August 1971

Genre
  
R&B

Label
  
Atco Records

"Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is the title of a 1971 song by the New York City-based R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was written and produced by the Poindexter brothers, Robert and Richard, and was also co-written by Jackie Members.

This was the group's biggest hit song, spending two weeks atop the Billboard R&B chart in late 1971. It also reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a certified Gold Record by the RIAA.

Cover versions

The song has been covered or sampled by many musical acts.

  • Roots reggae artist BB Seaton did a version on his 1973 album of the same name
  • British reggae band Black Slate also did a cover on their 1980 Ensign Records album Amigo
  • The rock band The Pretenders recorded a cover version of this song that was included on their 1984 album Learning to Crawl. Featuring Paul Carrack on keyboards and backing vocals and released as a single, peaking at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #49 on the UK Singles Chart. This version changed the lyrics from first-person viewpoint to second-person. (The first line of the third verse of this version is sometimes misunderstood as saying "I see her in the hospital bed," which would change the meaning of the song to imply that the woman has been battered by her husband/partner or has tried to kill herself in despair; but the actual lyric is "I see you're in the hospital bed".)
  • A sample of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" was featured in the song "Washed Away" by the hip-hop band Arrested Development. This song can be found on their 1992 album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of....
  • Also in 1992, rapper Kid Frost sampled this song on his track "Thin Line". This song is included on his album East Side Story and reached #82 on the Billboard R&B chart.
  • In 1995, Annie Lennox recorded a cover of this song that was featured on her second solo album Medusa.
  • In 1996, R&B vocal trio H-Town recorded the song, which was included in the film A Thin Line Between Love and Hate starring Martin Lawrence. Released as "A Thin Line Between Love & Hate", this version featured Shirley Murdock on female vocals and reached #6 on the Billboard R&B chart and #37 on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • In 2000, Chrissie Hynde performed a cover version on Da Ali G Show. During the performance, Ali G said the song was "depressing", and sped it up into a jungle song, with backup dancers.

    • References

    Thin Line Between Love and Hate Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA