Lotta Love - Jim Burgess Disco Mix

This soft-rock favorite has a writer you wouldn't expect: Neil Young, who released his version on his 1978 album Comes A Time around the same time Nicolette Larson issued it as her first single. Young's version is far more understated, with a restrained vocal and gentle piano by Spooner Oldham. Larson's rendition is a kitchen-sink production with horns, strings, and a soaring vocal where she hits some big notes. There's even a flute solo by Plas Johnson! This was the sound of the '70s, and it landed Larson a hit, going to #8 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Despite the stark differences in presentation, both versions have the same sentiment: It's gonna take a lotta love to make this pairing work.

Neil Young started playing this song live in 1976, long before he recorded it. After it became a hit for Larson, he would sometimes slip it into his sets, baffling the more fairweather of his fans who didn't know he wrote it.

Nicolette Larson worked with Neil Young as a backup singer, first on his 1977 album American Stars 'n Bars and then on Comes A Time (she doesn't appear on Young's version of the song - on that album she's best heard on the track "Motorcycle Mama"). According to Larson, she heard the song when she found a tape on the floor of Young's car that included his demo. "I popped it in the tape player and commented on what a great song it was," she told the Associated Press. "Neil said: 'You want it? It's yours.'"