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In 1972, Hall-of-Fame songwriters Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff wrote a "break-up ballad" that became a "Great Song of the '70s--but not in the way they originally intended.
At some point between handing the song over to Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes for recording and the release of the single, "The Love I Lost" became an uptempo dance song--something many musicologists consider to be the very first disco hit. If nothing else, it was certainly was different than traditional Rhythm & Blues.
It was also a big hit, topping Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and reaching #7 on the Hot 100 in 1973.
Twenty years later, singer/songwriter Sybil released an excellent cover version (recorded with the group West End) that hit #1 in the UK, and #18 on Billboard's Dance Charts in the US.
"Uptempo ballad" is an oxymoron, but "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes certainly defines the term...and it's a "Great Song of 1973" (as well as 1993).
Sybil/West End:
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