| "Is This Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork for UK and European releases | ||||
| Single byWhitesnake | ||||
| from the albumWhitesnake | ||||
| B-side | "Standing in the Shadow '87" (UK) "Bad Boys" (US) | |||
| Released | 18 May 1987[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:48 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| Whitesnake singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Is This Love" onYouTube | ||||
"Is This Love" is a song by the English hard rock bandWhitesnake, released on 18 May 1987 in the UK as the second single from theirself-titled album.
The single was a hit for Whitesnake, reaching number nine in theUK Singles Chart,[4] and number two on the USBillboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it their second-biggest US hit after "Here I Go Again", which topped the chart. The single was reissued in 1994 to promoteWhitesnake's Greatest Hits. This version reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.[5]
"Is This Love" has been a mainstay in Whitesnake's live shows since 1987. As such, it is featured on several of their live albums, includingLive: In the Shadow of the Blues (2006) andLive at Donington 1990 (2011). John Sykes played it live in 2004 (Bad Boy Live!). In 2015,Classic Rock magazine ranked it as 7th on their Top 40 greatestpower ballads list.[6]
The power ballad[6] was written by vocalistDavid Coverdale and guitaristJohn Sykes during the album's early writing process (which took place in the south of France), but it was long rumoured that the song had originally been written forTina Turner. Coverdale confirmed these rumours in the booklet ofWhitesnake's 20th anniversary edition, saying:
Before I'd left [for the south of France] a friend atEMI had asked me for any ideas that would work for Tina Turner. So that was where the original idea for "Is This Love" came from.
According to Coverdale, whenDavid Geffen heard the original demo, Coverdale was told to keep the song for Whitesnake.[7]
A music video was also made, featuring Coverdale's then-girlfriend actressTawny Kitaen. The music video, which was directed byMarty Callner, depicts the band playing the song on a misty stage, intercut with scenes of Coverdale singing, Kitaen dancing and the two of them together.
Due to Coverdale firing the other members of the band before the album was released, he is the only Whitesnake member present on both the recording and in the music video; this was the case for all music videos released for songs from the1987 album (except for "Here I Go Again", Vandenberg performed the guitar solo on the recording and later appeared in the music video as well). It achieved heavy rotation on MTV.[8]
"Is This Love" reached number 13 onBillboard'sMainstream Rock chart.[9] It also peaked at number 38 on theAdult Contemporary chart in the US.[10]
All songs were written by David Coverdale and John Sykes, except where noted.
UK (EMI) single
US (Geffen) single
*The B-sides that appeared on EMI editions of the single were new 1987 re-recordings of earlier tracks by the band, although they were not advertised as such on the packaging. Both re-recorded versions would later feature on the1987 Versions EP.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[28] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[29] | Silver | 250,000[29] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[30] 2006 release | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 18 May 1987 | EMI |
| [1] |
| Germany | 25 May 1987 | |||
| North America | October 1987 | Geffen |
| |
| Japan | 21 November 1987 | CBS/Sony | 7-inch vinyl | [31] |
| UK | 20 June 1994 | EMI |
| [32] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
