The 1975 song Bad Company wrote to “prove” they weren’t a one-hit wonder
After the success of their 1974 debut, Bad Company felt pressure to show they could sustain it with a strong follow-up. The band’s 1975 song ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ became a major track on their second album, Straight Shooter, and Paul Rodgers later described it as a possible “legacy song”.
Rodgers began writing the verses in 1968, drawing on a youthful experience in California, and first brought the song to guitarist Mick Ralphs as a gentle, country-style ballad. Ralphs added the heavy chords that drive its chorus, creating a sharp contrast between the wistful verses and forceful refrain. Bad Company recorded the album over two months at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire, using a mobile studio in a caravan outside.
In short
- Bad Company wanted their second album to prove they were more than a one-hit act.
- Paul Rodgers began the song’s verses in 1968.
- Mick Ralphs added the heavy chorus riff.
Explained simply
Bad Company were a British rock band formed in 1973, with singer Paul Rodgers and guitarist Mick Ralphs among their founding members. Their first album was a commercial success, raising expectations for what the band would do next.
Their second album, Straight Shooter, came out in 1975. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” grew from a song Rodgers had started years earlier: he wrote the verses, and Ralphs added the heavier guitar chords for the chorus. The contrast helped make it one of the band’s best-known songs.
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