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Making Love Out of Nothing at All

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"Making Love Out of Nothing At All"
Single by Air Supply
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side"Late Again"
ReleasedJuly 1983
RecordedAugust 1982
Genre
Length5:43 (album version)
4:53 (single version)
5:38 (video version)
LabelArista (US)
Geffen (UK)
Songwriter(s)Jim Steinman
Producer(s)Jim Steinman
Air Supply singles chronology
"Two Less Lonely People in the World"
(1982) 		"Making Love Out of Nothing At All"
(1983) 		"I Can Wait Forever"
(1984)
Music video
"Making Love Out of Nothing At All" on YouTube

"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" is a power ballad written and composed by Jim Steinman and first released by the British/Australian soft rock duo Air Supply for their 1983 compilation album Greatest Hits. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks (behind "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, giving Steinman a consecutive peak of two songs).

The song has been covered and sampled by other artists, such as rapper Cuban Link in the song "Letter to Pun" from the album Chain Reaction.

Background and recording

[edit]

The song is a reworking of the main title theme from the 1980 film A Small Circle of Friends, for which Jim Steinman wrote the score.[3] It was first recorded by Air Supply, giving them a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. for three weeks.

The song was subsequently released as a new track from their 1983 greatest hits album. The B-side of the single is "Late Again".[4] They have included the song on their greatest hits and live albums, and recorded an acoustic version for their 2005 album The Singer and the Song.[5]

Simultaneously, Steinman offered the song, along with "Total Eclipse of the Heart", to Meat Loaf for his Midnight at the Lost and Found album; however, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay Steinman for the material so Meat Loaf ended up writing compositions for the album himself.[6]

By 1983, Air Supply had changed much of its classic musician line-up, both in the recording studio and on tour. But Steinman, known for his lavish, rock-opera-ish type productions, used Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band members Roy Bittan on keyboards and Max Weinberg on drums, to musically underscore the recording with like energies. Rick Derringer, who was previously the guitarist for the McCoys and Johnny Winter, provided the electric guitar solo.

Music video

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Two versions of the music video were produced. The initial version is a loose homage to the lives of bands on tour life and the long distance relationships they go through during their concert tours. It begins with a couple driving to an airport; the man (Graham Russell) is "leaving for a tour" and tries to convince the woman (played by Graham Russell's real-life spouse, actress Jodi Varble-Russell) to join him:

Exterior house
Man: So, won't you reconsider?
Woman: So, won't you?

Driving to the airport
Man: Come with me, I can give you anything.
Woman: I've been there, all I want is you.

Airport tarmac
Man: But it's just one more tour, then I'll be back.
Woman: But I won't...I can't...

After the man leaves and boards the plane, a Learjet 35, the band flies off to their destination. The remainder of the video intersperses Air Supply onstage with various scenes of the man and woman's relationship. Hitchcock and Russell leave their dressing room for the stage; as they sing with the band, the woman is shown packing to leave. Nevertheless, she changes her mind and does a u-turn on the freeway, and now drives to the airport. She meets Russell at the side of the stage near the end of the song and they embrace.[7] This version was filmed entirely in Los Angeles, with the concert sequences shot at the Forum and the airport scenes done at Van Nuys Airport.

The subsequent official version is set in 1960s New York City and involves a Marine and a young woman and the various challenges they encounter in their relationship, interspersed with scenes of the band singing the song.[8]

Chart performance

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The song was most successful in the United States and Canada, reaching numbers 2 and 3, respectively. It also reached the top 30 in Ireland and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, the song was not as successful, peaking at No. 80 on the UK Singles Chart, their fourth highest charting single there overall, after "All Out of Love" (#11), "Even the Nights Are Better" (#44) and "Goodbye" (#66).

Chart history

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

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+ In initial releases of Air Supply's 1983 Greatest Hits album, Steve Buslowe was not included as the bassist in the album credits.[20] However, this error was corrected in future pressings.[21]

Bonnie Tyler version

[edit]
"Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)"
Single by Bonnie Tyler
from the album Free Spirit
Released1995
StudioThe Hit Factory (New York City)
GenrePop rock
Length7:49
LabelEast West
Songwriter(s)Jim Steinman
Producer(s)

In 1995, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler covered "Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)" on her eleventh studio album, Free Spirit. The track was co-produced by Steinman and Steven Rinkoff, and features samples of Tyler's mother, Elsie Hopkins, singing "Un bel dì vedremo" from Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly.[22]

AllMusic called Tyler's interpretation "fantastic, clocking in at nearly eight minutes, and seems perfectly suited for her voice. [Air Supply's] version was already great, but hers is awesome."[23]

Lyrics

[edit]

These lines were changed for the Tyler version, and also for the subsequent Karine Hannah version.[citation needed]

I can make you find your power
I can make you lose your fear
I can make your body do some very magical things
And make your inhibitions all disappear

Charts

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Chart (1995–96) Peak
position
European Border Breakers Airplay (Music & Media)[24] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Single Top 100)[25] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[27] 45
Chart (2020) Peak
position
UK Physical Singles (OCC)[28] 87

Re-recording

[edit]

In 2010, Tyler released a new version of the song with Canadian singer Matt Petrin.[29]

Rory Dodd demo version

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A version from 1982 sung by Rory Dodd also exists. The only accompaniment is Steinman playing piano, and he includes several variations on the primary melody in the intro and bridge.[30]

Lyrics

[edit]

After the bridge, there are two verses that appear before the final two verses of the Air Supply version. The verse from the Tyler version is not included.[citation needed]

I can make your money double
Or I can make you lose your shirt
I can make the old wounds start to heal
Or I can make the new ones hurt

I can make the music louder
Or I can make the songs all fade
I can make every girl just wanna get up and dance
And make the boys in the band start to play

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Making Love Out of Nothing at All - Air Supply - Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. ^ "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  3. ^ "A SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Main Title Theme". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Special Sub-Topic: 'Making Love Out Of Nothing At All'". FunTrivia.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
  5. ^ "Air Supply: The Singer And The Song". CD Baby. Archived from the original on 19 November 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  6. ^ Adams, Cameron (26 October 2006). "Meat Loaf's a Hell raiser". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
  7. ^ Making Love Out of Nothing at All (original video) on YouTube
  8. ^ Making Love Out of Nothing at All (official video) on YouTube
  9. ^ "RPM Top Singles - Volume 39, No. 9". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Making Love Out of Nothing at All". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  12. ^ "Air Supply Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Air Supply Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 10/29/83". TropicalGlen.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Singles of 1983 – Volume 39, No. 17, December 24 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1983/Top 100 Songs of 1983". www.MusicOutfitters.com. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1983". TropicalGlen.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Air Supply – Making Love (Out of Nothing at All)". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  19. ^ "American single certifications – Air Supply – Making Love Out of Nothing at All". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  20. ^ Air Supply - Greatest Hits @Discogs.com. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  21. ^ Air Supply- Greatest Hits (1983) liner notes (lists Steve Buslowe's name and contribution at the end). Accessed on 22 August 2013.
  22. ^ Free Spirit (booklet). Bonnie Tyler. East West Records. 1995. 0630-12108-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ "Bonnie Tyler: Free Spirit". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  24. ^ "Week 48 / 95 Border Breakers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 48. 2 December 1995. p. 22. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Dutch Single Top 100 – 25/11/1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bonnie Tyler" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Official Physical Singles Chart - 9 October 2020 - 15 October 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  29. ^ Out Of Nothing At All (August 2010) (feat. Matt Petrin) by Bonnie Tyler, 9 July 2010, archived from the original on 6 April 2023, retrieved 6 April 2023
  30. ^ "Phantom of the Paradise - The (Almost) Complete Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman Lyric Archive". mljs.EvilNickname.org. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
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