5 Most Classic Romantic Songs to Dedicate this Valentine’s Day 2022
Best Valentine’s Day music classics and their most romantic choir versions
Love is in the air… All you need is love… I’ve just called to say ‘I love you’...
Love - happy love, corresponded love, nostalgic love, suffering love… - has always permeated every form of artistic expression.
In particular with music, sometimes it seems quite hard not to find a song that doesn’t revolve around the theme of love!
And yet, when we have to think of one to dedicate to someone, we blank out.
This one? The lyrics are too sad. This other one? This one’s too cheesy. This one?! Yes these words could work, but it’s not a good song…
Sometimes it feels like, while every song in the history of music is about love, we can’t seem to find a single one that works and we can dedicate to our significant other!
Well, this time we finally have your back! For this Valentine’s, we have decided to come prepared: we did the brain work for you and we gathered the 10 best romantic songs to dedicate to someone.
Not only: for all our choir singers and fans, we also selected the best choir version of each song for an even more emotional romantic dedication.
1) Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley, 1961)
“Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you…”
Perhaps the most classical love song of all time. Generations of couples and lovers have danced and sung this song over and over again.
Written by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore on a melody based on an ancient 18th century song called Plaisir d'amour by Martini the German, the song was adapted with a new text, for inclusion in the soundtrack of the film Blue Hawaii, starring Elvis Presley.
Over the next five decades, the song was covered by countless artists.
We selected a choir cover versions for you this Valentine’s, performed by a magical, award-winning and world-renowned a cappella group: Pentatonix.
2) L.O.V.E (Nat King Cole, 1964)
“L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can…”
Another classic romantic song who has made the history of music is surely “L.O.V.E”, a single by American pianist and singer Nat King Cole, released in 1965 and contained in the omonimous album.
The song was written by Milt Gabler and Bert Kaempfert and subsequently interpreted by numerous artists, the most renowned including Frank Sinatra, his daughter Natalie, Michael Bublé, the cast of Glee, and recently Joss Stone.
We instead would like to bring to you the beautiful polyphonic version recorded by Julia Westlin & David MeShow.
3. One Hand, One Heart (from “West Side Story”, 1961)
“Make of our hands one hand,
Make of our hearts one heart,
Make of our vows one last vow:
Only death will part us now...”
From the musical and cinematographic masterpiece West Side Story, “One Hand One Heart” has certainly become one of the most famous love anthems.
The musical (libretto by Arthur Laurents, words by Stephen Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein), set in the Upper West Side of New York during the mid 1950s, features two youngsters belonging to different and rival city gangs and the story of their love, loosely based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
“One Hand, One Heart”' is a duet sung by the two lovers Maria and Tony while fantasizing about their imaginary wedding, introduced in the 1957 Broadway production by Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence.
For this occasion, we have selected a version arranged by Adam Holladay and sung by the Salt Lake Symphonic Choir in a virtual choral performance at the start of the global pandemic in 2020.
4. Stand by Me (Ben E. King, 1961)
“No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me…”
One of the best Valentine’s Day songs you can dedicate to someone this year is surely “Stand by Me”, written and sung by Ben E. King.
In the same year of composition, this beautiful love song reached the Top 10 of the best-selling singles in the United States.
This happened again in 1986, on the occasion of the release of the film Stand by Me - Remembrance of a Summer. On the same occasion it also gained the first place in the British and Irish charts.
Is there something more romantic than the choral version performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir… during the very Royal Wedding of Harry and Meghan?
5. Your Song (Elton John, 1970)
"I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind
That I put down in the words
How wonderful life is while you're in the world"
Your Song, written by Bernie Taupin and composed and performed by Elton John, is a classic romantic song that has also made the history of music.
Its beauty and power have been praised by many other artists through the decades.
The song even conquered the heart of one of the greatest music icons of the 20th century: after listening to it, John Lennon said that he had heard something really new for the first time since the breakup of the Beatles.
Subsequently, Rolling Stone magazine called it "a sweet McCartney ballad" and in 2004 placed it at 136th on its list of the 500 best songs of all time.
“Your Song” has fathered a line of following versions creating a heritage of music masterpieces and poignant interpretations, among which the ones of Billy Paul, Ellie Lady Gaga, and the famous adaptation in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge. For this year’s Valentine’s Day, instead, we would like to highlight the touching a cappella interpretation by the choir group Veritones.
Hope you liked our selection of Valentine's Day (choir) songs! Watch out for part II with the most romantic Love Songs from the 2000s to be published on Valentine’s Day!
In the meantime: What is YOUR favorite Valentine’s Day song this year? Tell us on our social media!
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