Single:
I Love You, I Honestly Love You entered the Australian singles chart* on 30 September 1974 and was a #1 hit. The song was #6 on the Top 100 of 1974.
Album:
The song is on Long Live Love which entered the Australian albums chart* on 30 September 1974 and peaked at #19.
Songwriters:
Jeff Barry, Peter Allen
Producer:
John Farrar
Record label of Australian release:
Interfusion
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Songfacts:
The song title was abbreviated to I Honestly Love You for international release. It was written by the leading American songwriter Jeff Barry and the Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen, who was working on his album Continental American. Allen brought Barry in to write and they came up with I Honestly Love You. They made a demo of the song for their own purposes, but somehow that demo made its way to Olivia Newton-John’s producer John Farrar, who played it for the singer.
Olivia loved the song, but Allen wanted to keep it for himself. Barry convinced him that letting Olivia record it was a good idea since she was, at the time, one of the most popular singers in the world and more likely to have a hit with it. Allen agreed, and it proved a shrewd move; the song became a huge hit and helped launch Allen’s career as a songwriter.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/olivia-newton-john/i-honestly-love-you
Lyrics:
Maybe I hang around here
A little more than I should
We both know I got somewhere else to go
But I got something to tell you
That I never thought I would
But I believe you really ought to know
Click for full lyrics
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