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Thin Line Between Love and Hate
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Wikipedia article
"'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 Robert's wife, Jackie Members.
Background
This painful, tragic song tells a story about a man coming home early in the morning to find his wife waiting for him, seemingly unconcerned with his being out all night. But he warns against taking advantage of a woman's love and acceptance, because one day she might break -- advice he gives from his hospital bed.
Chart history
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.Whitburn, Joel (2004). 'The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 488.
Cover versions
The song has been covered or sampled by many musical acts.
*The rock band The Pretenders recorded a cover version of this song, included on their 1984 album 'Learning to Crawl'. Featuring Paul Carrack on keyboards and backing vocals, it was released as a single, peaking at #83 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart and #49 on the UK Singles Chart.[https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/What%20I%20Like%20Most%20About%20You%20Is%20Your%20Girlfriend Official Charts Company info] OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 22 April 2009. This version changed the lyric from first-person viewpoint to second-person.
*Jamaican reggae singer B.B. Seaton recorded a version as the title track of his 1973 album for Trojan Records.
*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, 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 Roger Troutman, and Shirley Murdock on female vocals and reached #6 on the 'Billboard' R&B chart and #37 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100.
See also
*R&B number-one hits of 1971 (USA)
References
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