Tune Tuesday – Bad Case of Loving You

It was on this day in 1979 that Robert Palmer released Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor).

This has always been one of my favorite Robert Palmer songs.  I remember hearing it on the radio in the late 70’s and I remember having the 45.  As a radio/music guy, I am really ashamed to admit that I did not know that Robert Palmer’s version is NOT the original.  As you can see by the artist credit above, the writer of the song was John Moon Martin.

Moon was a singer/songwriter who played guitar in a 60’s band called Southwind.  When the band broke up in 1971, he became a studio musician. He played with Linda Ronstadt and almost became a member of the Eagles.  He got a record deal with Capitol Records and released an album entitled Shots From a Cold Nightmare.  Bad Case of Loving You was on the album and it was given a very small release in Europe.  I will put a link to his original version at the end of this blog.

The story is that a record rep played Moon’s version of the song for Robert Palmer on the way to a show.  Palmer liked it and began playing it at his shows.  It was getting good reactions and so he recorded it and included it on his Secrets album. In September of 1979 (a year after Moon’s version was released), Bad Case of Loving You reached #14 on the US Hot 100 Chart.

In 1990, Palmer released a “greatest hits” compilation entitled “Addictions” Volume 1. On this album he remixed a few of his early hits.

I remember the first time I listened to “Bad Case” on this compilation. Immediately, I could tell it sounded different. It sounded more “full.” I began to read the liner notes. That’s when I found out why it sounded different. Palmer said in the liner notes, “Looking back at the 1978 original the performance was there but someone was asleep at the mixing desk. The original mix in comparison sounded like a band rehearsing in a garage and this sounds like the finished song.”

I have come to like the remix version more than the original, because I tend to agree with him. I think the remix sounds great! It sounds a bit more produced while the original sounds weak in comparison. The one change that I absolutely love comes right after the bridge of the song. There is a simple measure of just four bass drum beats before he starts the final verse. That takes the song to a whole new level and I love it!

Here is the original Palmer version….

Here is the 1990 Remix …

Here is the Moon Martin version – recorded a year before Palmer’s original…

“Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)”