Peak
2
Weeks
14
Score
2,716
Chart Year
1972
"I'd Love You to Want Me" is written and performed by Lobo, lesser-known by his real name of Roland Kent Lavoie. The song is his highest-charting single, and is widely agreed to have been prime to move to #1 - if only it hadn't been blocked by the Johnny Nash's #1 hit "I Can See Clearly Now." What other hits were doing well at this time? "Nights in White Satin," "Witchy Woman," and "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone." All minor keys with darker themes. So "I Can See Clearly Now" was a sharp contrast to the prevailing mood at the time, and hence led the pack. The original release didn't chart in the UK, but when the single was re-released in 1974, that was when it peaked the #5 position. Lobo found the song's inspiration in his high school art class years before he actually wrote the lovelorn ballad. "I wanted to write the big ballad. There was a conscious effort to do that. The premise behind that was what I imagined in school. I had a really pretty art teacher," he told loBURN Magazine in 2015. "I was a high school senior and the teacher was 22. And she looked at me and I looked at her and there was a connection. That line, 'The obligation that you made, for the title that they gave,' was about that. It was the love you couldn't have. You know?" Lobo, born and bred in Florida, started his young music career as a member of the band The Rumours, along with Gram Parsons - who also went on to the International Submarine Band, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Liza Minnelli covered this song for her 1973 album, The Singer. On the album charts, The Singer made #38 in the US, the best she'd ever done there, and #45 in the UK. This was used on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the 2012 episode, "Tressed To Kill."
When I saw you standing there About fell out my chair And when you moved your mouth to speak I felt the blood go to my feet Now it took time for me to know What you tried so not to show Now something in my soul just cries I see the want in your blue eyes Baby, I'd love you to want me The way that I want you The way that it should be Baby, you'd love me to want you The way that I want to If you'd only let it be You told yourself years ago You'd never let your feelings show The obligation that you made For the title that they gave Baby, I'd love you to want me The way that I want you The way that it should be Baby, you'd love me to want you The way that I want to If you'd only let it be Now it took time for me to know What you tried so not to show Now something in my soul just cries I see the want in your blue eyes Baby, I'd love you to want me The way that I want you The way that it should be Baby, you'd love me to want you The way that I want to If you'd only let it be Baby, I'd love you to want me The way that I want you The way that it should be Baby, you'd love me to want you The way that I want to If you'd only let it be
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 23, 1972 | 83 | 43 |
| 2 | Sep 30, 1972 | 60 | 66 |
| 3 | Oct 7, 1972 | 44 | 82 |
| 4 | Oct 14, 1972 | 35 | 91 |
| 5 | Oct 21, 1972 | 30 | 96 |
| 6 | Oct 28, 1972 | 15 | 111 |
| 7 | Nov 4, 1972 | 8 | 118 |
| 8 | Nov 11, 1972 | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | Nov 18, 1972 | 2 | 124 |
| 10 | Nov 25, 1972 | 2 | 124 |
| 11 | Dec 2, 1972 | 4 | 122 |
| 12 | Dec 9, 1972 | 16 | 110 |
| 13 | Dec 16, 1972 | 29 | 97 |
| 14 | Dec 23, 1972 | 64 | 62 |