Download Instrumental    This fun tune was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, a songwriting team in the fifties known for their inane but entertaining lyrics.  Included in their string of masterpieces are gems such as Hound Dog (Elvis) and Charlie Brown (The Coasters).  See what I mean by inane lyrics?  Downright “cheeky”, but who cares?  They were huge hits and a riot to perform.  This song in particular should be in your repertoire.

“Love Potion No. 9” was originally recorded by an R&B group called The Clovers.  It went to No. 23 on the charts – not huge, but respectable.  I think their arrangement was much better than a version that a British band released in 1965. The Searchers were riding the “British Wave” ushered in by The Beatles in the early 60’s so theirs was the greater hit.  My arrangement is based on the more popular version – because I’m a sell-out.

This song is about a guy who just doesn’t do well with women, so he goes to Madame Ruth (our resident gypsy) to enlist her help.  She tells him her Love Potion #9 will do the trick.  He drinks it and goes nuts… “I started kissing everything in sight”.  But a cop eventually breaks his bottle and the show is over.  But none of this makes sense if you think about it.  Here’s a guy who can’t score with the opposite sex (for whatever reason), but the silly twit gives him a potion that turns him into a wild man – attacking women instead of wooing them.  Methinks the gypsy lady had one warped sense of humor.

One of the things that makes The Clovers recording better is a change of lyrics in the last line.  The Searchers ended it with “But when I kissed a cop down on 34th and Vine, he broke my little bottle of – Love Potion No. 9”.  The much more inspired “Clovers” version ended with “I had so much fun that I’m going back again, I wonder what happens with – Love Potion No. 10”.  Ah, much better conclusion, don’t you think?

Oh, one more thing…. the original didn’t have any keyboards, but I put a piano track in there anyway.  A piano cures everything – much better than some lousy potion.