1- “Endless Love” Diana Ross & Lionel Richie | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for nine weeks (1981)
Producer Jon Peters and director Franco Zeffirelli asked Lionel Richie to compose an instrumental along the lines of the theme from Love Story for the movie Endless Love starring Brooke Shields. When Zeffirelli changed his mind and asked Richie if he would add lyrics, the Motown star agreed to write some. Then Zeffirelli made one more request – to add a female singer, someone like Diana Ross.
2- “I’ll Make Love to You” – Boyz II Men | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for 14 weeks (1994)
When the members of Boyz II Men first heard Babyface’s composition “I’ll Make Love to You,” they were concerned about recording a song that was too similar to their previous hit, “End of the Road.” Nathan Morris explains, “The record company talked us into doing it and thank God it worked.”
3-“How Deep Is Your Love,” Bee Gees | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for three weeks (1977)
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb hadn’t seen the script for the movie that became Saturday Night Fever when they wrote “How Deep Is Your Love” for the soundtrack. They weren’t even certain that there was a love scene in the film. They intended the song for Yvonne Elliman, but their manager Robert Stigwood insisted they record it themselves.
4-“We Found Love” – Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for 10 weeks (2011)
What could be more romantic than finding love in a “hopeless place”? Rihanna scored the biggest hit of her career (and the top ‘love’ song of the 21st century) with only her fourth Hot 100 entry to feature “love” in the title, following “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want” (2005), “Hate That I Love You” (2007) and her featured role on Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” (2010).
5-“Silly Love Songs” – Wings | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for five weeks (1976)
1976 was a very good year for love songs achieving pole position on the Hot 100. First there was “Love Rollercoaster” by the Ohio Players, followed by Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Love Machine” by the Miracles, “Let Your Love Flow” by the Bellamy Brothers, “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross and the longest-running “love” No. 1 of the year, Wings’ “Silly Love Songs.”
6-“I Will Always Love You” – Whitney Houston | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for 14 weeks (1992)
Whitney Houston’s signature song — a No. 1 smash from The Bodyguard — was originally a No. 1 hit for the woman who composed the tune, Dolly Parton. Her version topped the Hot Country Songs chart in 1974 and again in 1982.
7-“Let Me Love You” – Mario | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for nine weeks (2005)
Mario didn’t realize this song was going to be so huge. “I didn’t know it would touch so many people,” he says. “But it was an emotional song and those records last forever.”
8-“Because I Love You (The Postman Song)” – Stevie B | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for four weeks (1990)
Songwriter Warren Allen Brooks says his No. 1 hit was a “spiritual song,” even if people think he was writing about love between a man and a woman. “It’s really about me and God having a personal relationship.”
9-“I Love Rock n’ Roll” – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts | Hot 100 Peak: No 1 for seven weeks (1982)
10-“Best of My Love” – The Emotions | Hot 100 Peak: No. 1 for five weeks (1977)
When the Stax label folded, the three Hutchinson sisters had to find a new home. They were signed to a production company run by Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. With group member Al McKay, White wrote this song specifically for them and the lead voice of Wanda Hutchinson.