One of Bobby Bland's most popular singles, this #2 R&B hit finds the singer desperate for some loving. In between blasts of horns and percussion, he begs his girl to "turn on her love light." The tune was written by R&B trumpeter Joe Scott, who also came up with the lively arrangement. He shares credit with Duke Records' owner and producer Don Robey aka Deadric Malone. It was Robey who paired Bland with Scott - a partnership that proved fruitful. "In the early days Joe Scott selected all my material, the stories he knew I could tell," Bland explained to Melody Maker in 1974. "He also wrote all the lyrics and the charts for the band."
Bland landed his first hit in 1957 with the R&B chart-topper "Farther Up The Road," but it was "Turn On Your Love Light," from his sophomore album, Here's The Man!, that expanded his fan base. "It crossed over from the chitlin circuit," he told Rolling Stone in 1998. "It got, if I can say, the white people to listen."
According to music journalist John Morthland's liner notes on the 1992 compilation The Best of Duke-Peacock Blues, Bland's backing band on this tune was likely as follows: trumpets: Joe Scott and Melvin Jackson trombone: Pluma Davis saxophones: Johnny Board and Jimmy Beck baritone saxophone: Rayfield Davers piano: Teddy Reynolds guitar: Wayne Bennett bass: Hamp Simmons drums: John "Jabo" Starks
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