“All you need is love” ? love songs, that is.
Their lyrics and melodies have replaced the love letter, according to LaDawn Black, host of the Love Zone, a dedication and request program on 92.3 FM.
“People don?t have the time or interest anymore to sit down and tell how they really feel,” the disc jockey said.
Most male callers on the Love Zone ask for “the ?I?m sorry? songs,” Black said. “They?re in trouble at 10 at night and call for the classics like the Isley Brothers? ?Spend the Night? and ?Let?s Get It On? by Marvin [Gaye] to try to get that mood started.”
Baltimore?s ladies are “more open about being lovelorn,” Black said. “They tend to request the power ballads ? like anything off Mariah Carey?s new album.”
On the opposite end of the dial, callers on 101.9 FM?s Nite Lite most often request “Amazed” by Lonestar, “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, and “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” by Bryan Adams.
For 13 years, Nite Lite host Fran Lane has heard from hundreds of swooning and heartbroken Marylanders.
“Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers is “hands down the most-requested song across the board,” Lane said.
Newlyweds also choose the Righteous Brothers?classic for their first dance, said Jason Wallace, a Baltimore-area DJ who plays at nearly 80 weddings a year.
For valentines with eclectic tastes, Wallace said, mash-ups such as the Beatles? “I Saw Her Standing There” laced with “You?re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell may be the perfect musical love note.
“Certain songs will say what people are feeling but can?t say themselves,” Lane said. “A lot of times when it comes to love, people get very emotional and choked up, they don?t have the words. [Lyrics] have such a poetic way to convey feelings.”
More popular Love Zone requests:
» “International Lover” and “Scandalous” ? Prince
» “Dangerously in Love” and “Irreplaceable” ? Beyonce Knowles
» “Take Me as I Am” ? Mary J. Blige
» “Lost Without You” ? Robin Thicke
