In 1980, Whitesnake scored their first UK top 20 hit with Fool For Your Loving. But as the band’s leader and frontman David Coverdale revealed, they almost gave the song away – to blues legend BB King.
In an interview with Outlaw magazine, Coverdale recalled how a connection was made when King was interviewed by Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden and said how he had enjoyed the band’s 1978 version of the classic R&B song Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City.
First recorded by Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland in 1974, Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City was covered by Whitesnake on their 1978 EP Snakebite.
As Coverdale said: “Bernie had done an interview with BB, whom we all adored, and he asked us to write something for him. He loved what we’d done with Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City – as did Bobby Bland, by the way.”
Coverdale and Marsden wrote Fool For Your Loving with Whitesnake’s other guitarist Micky Moody during sessions for the band’s third studio album Ready An’ Willing.
They wrote the song with King in mind, but after cutting a demo they had second thoughts.
As Coverdale recalled: “When we listened back to the demo of Fool For Your Loving, we agreed we should keep it. Sorry, B.B.!”
He added: “That demo is actually the track featured on Ready An’ Willing.”
The band’s confidence in this song was rewarded when it became their first major hit in the UK, peaking at No.13.
Fool For Your Loving was also re-recorded for Whitesnake’s 1989 album Slip Of The Tongue, with Steve Vai on guitar long after both Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody had left the band. This version was also released as a single but failed to match the success of the original, peaking outside the UK Top 40.
A similar story happened with the ballad Is This Love, a hit from Whitesnake’s album 1987.
During the making of the 1987 album, Coverdale worked in partnership with guitarist John Sykes, formerly of Thin Lizzy and Tygers Of Pan Tang.
When the pair wrote Is This Love they planned to present the song to another famous singer.
Coverdale revealed: “A friend at EMI had asked me for any ideas that would work for Tina Turner. So that was where the original idea for Is This Love came from.”
But as with Fool For Your Loving, Coverdale decided that the song was just too good to give away. And again his instincts proved right – Is This Love would hit No.9 in the UK and No.2 in the US.
