An American Songwriter feature rounds up four romantic soul lyrics from the 1970s, drawing on tracks by The Stylistics, The Natural Four, Deniece Williams and Marvin Gaye. The piece explores the personal circumstances behind each song's writing, from a songwriter's engagement to a heated argument with a girlfriend, showing how real-life relationships shaped some of the era's most enduring love songs.

Each entry pairs a key lyric with background on its creation: "Betcha By Golly, Wow" was written by a happily engaged Linda Creed with Thom Bell; The Natural Four's "Can This Be Real" reflects on how love reshapes one's sense of self; Deniece Williams and an 18-year-old Michael Bennett channelled a post-argument mood into "'Cause I Love You"; and Marvin Gaye's "I Want You", co-written by Leon Ross, mirrored his real relationship with the much younger Janis Hunter, whom he later married and divorced in 1979.