Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" is a 1974 R&B song written by Michael Price and Dan Walsh and first recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland for the ABC Dunhill album "Dreamer". While Bland scored a minor hit with the song, landing in the top ten of the R&B charts [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:dnfexvlrldde allmusic ] ] , it is perhaps best known through cover versions and samples. While it is ostensibly a love song, some critics have also heard it as a lament on urban poverty and hopelessness; the reggae singer Al Brown's cover version even changes most of the lyrics to magnify this emphasis. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:dnfexvlrldde allmusic ] ]

Covers and samples

A well-known cover of the song is by the hard rock band Whitesnake, who included it on their 1978 debut EP, "Snakebite", and again as a live recording on "". The cover was the new band's first hit, and it became a staple of their live set.

For his 2001 album "The Blueprint", the rapper Jay-Z recorded the song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," a Kanye West-produced track built around a sample of Bobby Bland's chartmaking rendition. The Jay-Z song was used in the trailer for the 2007 film "American Gangster".

Other notable cover versions have been recorded by:

*Al Brown (reggae, mid-1970s)
*Bobby "Blue" Bland (blues, 1974)
*Barrett Strong (R&B, 1976)
*Cafe Jacques - on the album 'Round The Back' (rock, 1977)
*Grady Tate (jazz, 1977)
*Long John Baldry (blues, 1977)
*Whitesnake (rock, 1978)
*Kate Taylor (rock, 1979)
*Crystal Gayle (country, 1980)
*Chris Farlowe (R&B, 1985)
*Ruthless Blues (blues, 1989)
*Mick Abrahams (rock, 1996)
*Willie Clayton (R&B, 1998, as "Heart of the City")
*Paul Weller (rock, 1998)
*DJ Andrew Unknown & DJ Mekalek (hip hop/rap (intro), 2002)
*Mary Coughlan (jazz, 2002)
*Maggie Bell (rock, 2004, live recording)
*Vaya Con Dios (rock, 2004)
*Jay-Z (Rap, 2001 [The Blueprint (Jay-Z album, 2001 Roc-A-Fella Records, L.L.C] )
*Paul Carrack (pop/rock, 2008)

References