Love T.K.O.

"Love T.K.O." is a song written by Cecil Womack and Gip Noble, Jr.[1] It was written for soul singer David Oliver and appeared first on his album Here's to You in 1980.

"Love T.K.O."
Side A of the US single
Single by Teddy Pendergrass
from the album TP
Released	November 1980
Recorded	1980
Genre	Soul
Length	4:58
Label	Philadelphia International Records
Songwriter(s)	Cecil Womack Gip Noble, Jr.
Producer(s)	Dexter Wansel, Cecil Womack, Cynthia Biggs
Teddy Pendergrass singles chronology
"Can't We Try" (1980) "Love T.K.O." (1980) "Two Hearts" (1981)

Teddy Pendergrass recording

However, "Love TKO" is mainly associated with R&B and soul artist Teddy Pendergrass, who recorded the song for his 1980 album TP, releasing it as a single the same year. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Charts

Teddy Pendergrass version

Chart (1980)	Peak position
US Billboard R&B	2
US Billboard Hot 100[3]	44

Regina Belle version

Regina Belle recorded and released her version in 1995 and included on her Reachin' Back LP.

Chart (1995)	Peak position
US Billboard R&B[4]	29

Other recordings

"Love TKO" has been covered by several artists, including:

• Deborah Harry
• Hall & Oates
• Bette Midler
• Boz Scaggs
• Lambchop
• Michael McDonald
• Seal
• Cecil and Linda Womack recorded the song themselves as Womack & Womack and it appeared simply as "T.K.O." on their debut album Love Wars in 1983.
• Fourplay, and the Pittsburgh R&B/dance/cover band Modern Man.[5]

Samples

• In 1995, R&B group Xscape sampled it for their remix of "Who Can I Run To".
• In 1996, the song was sampled by Kenny Lattimore on "I Won't Let You Down".
• Total as well as featured in the 2015 motion picture Concussion.

Popular culture

• In 2006, Pendergrass' version of the song was featured in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on fictional radio station VCFL.
• It was used in 2005 video game Fahrenheit (a.k.a. Indigo Prophecy).
• DJ Spooky referenced the song in his essay titled "Groove Theory" in URB.
• Artist Ahmad Lewis used the melody for a remix of his 1994 song "Back in the Day" from his self-titled album Ahmad.

References

1. "secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 455.
3. US Charts. MusicVF.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020
4. "Regina Belle US chart history". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2002-08-13. Retrieved 2008-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)