"Mr. Love" is a 1977 single by Canadian rock group Vehicle. It charted for them that year on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart.
Background Vehicle were a Grimsby, Ontario-based band who had been actively performing in Hamilton for some time prior to the release of their single "Mr. Love". The John Dee Driscoll produced song was backed with "Da-Nite Shuffle" and released on Skyline Records SKY 015X in 1977.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No 17 July 23, 1977 - Page 7 Quality releases single by Vehicle on SkylineHitparade.ch - Vehicle – Mr. Love The lead singer on the song was Owen Smith.Rock My World Canada! - Vehicle (classic rock)
The national breakout status for the single was confirmed in the 27 August issue of RPM Weekly. The single was quickly becoming a hit in Canada.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No. 22 August 27, 1977 - Page 11 Vehicle - National breakout for debut single by Ron Proulx
The record was released in the United States on Roadshow 1089.Record World, October 22, 1977 - Page 1 (front cover) HITS OF THE WEEK, SLEEPERS
Reception Even before the official release, "Mr. Love" caused a heavy favorable reaction amongst radio programmers. And both CHUM in Toronto and CKOC in Hamilton had it as an instant add on before it was released.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No 17 July 23, 1977 - Page 7 Quality releases single by Vehicle on Skyline
In the United States, it was in Gary Taylor's Personal Picks section of the 7 October issue of The Gavin Report. He also wrote that this "left field choice" was pulling on the Top Ten phones in Toronto.The Gavin Report, #1172 October 7, 1977 - -14- Gary Taylor's Personal Picks, MR. LOVE-Vehicle ( Roadshow/U.A.)
The single was reviewed in the Record World Hits of the Week section for the week of 22 October where it was one of the four sleepers. The reviewer wrote that it sounded like a children's marching song that was given rock & roll treatment that almost demanded a sing along from the listener. The good production effects and acapella chorus were also noted.Record World, October 22, 1977 - Page 1 (front cover) HITS OF THE WEEK, SLEEPERS
It was reported in the 5 November issue of RPM Weekly that the single which had been released in the United States three weeks prior was receiving favorable action there. A range of top U.S. trades and tip sheets had Mr. Love as a pick. Roadshow Records who Quality Records had entered into a US release agreement was planning an all-out campaign for the group's single and album. Quality was also in the process of selecting a second single from the album.RPM Weekly, Volume 28 No. 6 November 5, 1977 - Page 13 U.S. picks for Vehicle's Mr. Love single
Airplay For the week of 23 July, "Mr. Love" was at No. 37 at CKOC in Hamilton.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No 17 July 23, 1977 - Page 20 RPM MAJOR MARKET ADDITIONS, CKOC (Nevin Grant), Chafrted, 95 (37) Mr. Love-Vehicle
For the week of 27 August, "Mr. Love" was at No. 47 at CKOM in Saskatoon,RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No. 22 August 27, 1977 - Page 29 RPM MAJOR ADDITIONS, SASKATOON, CKOM (Don Scott), Charted, 47 (40) Mr. Love-Vehicle 47 at CKBC in Bathurst and 37 at CFSL in Weyburn.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No. 22 August 27, 1977 - Page 30 RPM CROSS CANADA ADDITIONS, BATHURST CKBC, Playlisted, 47 Mr. Love-Vehicle; WEYBURN CFSL (Jon Fredrix), Charted, 47 (37) Mr. Love-Vehicle
Charts Even though the alphabetical listing of the singles in the 23 July issue of RPM Weekly had "Mr. Love" at No. 95,RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No 17 July 23, 1977 - Page 16 SINGLES ALPHABETICALLY, Mr. Love 95 it was actually at its debut position of No. 100 in the RPM 100 Singles chart.RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No 17 July 23, 1977 - Page 18 RPM 100 Top Singles (51 100), 100.... (1) MAPL, MR. LOVE Vehicle Skyline SKY015-M The single eventually peaked at No. 25.RPM Weekly, Volume 28 No. 1 October 1, 1977 - Page 39 RPM 100 SINGLES, 26 27 (11) MAPL, MR. LOVE Vehicle Skyline SKY015-MHitparade.ch - Vehicle – Mr. Love, CDN: #25, 1977 For the week of 22 October, at week fourteen, it was still in the chart at No. 42.RPM Weekly, Volume 28 No. 4 October 22, 1977 - Page 11 RPM 100 SINGLES, 42 35 (14) MAPL, MR. LOVE Vehicle Skyline SKY015-M
It also made the Canadian Recording Industry Association National Best Selling Record chart.RPM Weekly, Volume 28 No. 1 October 1, 1977 - Page 33 CANADIAN RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION NATIONAL BEST SELLING RECORD CHART, SINGLES, 46 44 1, MR. LOVE Vehicle (Quality) Musicians Carlo Dibattista Tom Smith Martin Wall Gary Pratt Richard Hawksby Scott Wilson RPM Weekly, Volume 27 No. 13 June 25, 1977 - Page 11 Quality releases Skyline debut LP by Vehicle
Further reading Musings Of A Broken Record, By Mark Edward Randall, Jun 20, 2024 - Beyond The Guess Who: Vehicle- "Mr. Love" and Lynx- "I Just Wanna Love You" by Mark Edward Randall
References
External links Discogs - Vehicle (4) – Mr. Love / Da-Nite Shuffle James Collins channel, May 26, 2011 - "Mr. Love" - Vehicle (Quality Records) 1977 (featuring Owen Smith) (audio) Vinyldrome channel, Nov 3, 2023 - Vehicle - Da-Nite Shuffle, Canadian Rock 45rpm 1977 (audio)