April 25, 2025 —– Chart #295
Hello Music Friends,
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Time to crank it up and slide into something silky, because this week we’re slow-dancing into the horn-blasted glory of “Don’t Pull Your Love” by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds — a band that sounds less like a musical act and more like the guys who sell you life insurance and bait on the side.
Released in 1971, this song was the trio’s first and biggest hit, and it practically swaggered out of the speakers with a rhythm section tighter than your Uncle Ray’s jeans after Thanksgiving. If you remember hearing it on the radio, you were probably driving something made of steel with wood paneling and trying to get to second base without getting caught by the local constable.
Now here’s a fun twist: the song wasn’t even written by the band. It was cooked up by the hit-making duo Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who were handing out chart-toppers like candy at a Fourth of July parade. “Don’t Pull Your Love” was originally offered to Elvis. Yes, that Elvis. But apparently The King passed (probably distracted by a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich), and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds were smart enough to say yes.
They recorded it, added some horn stabs that could wake the dead, and threw in a vocal performance that teetered somewhere between desperate plea and lounge-lizard seduction. It worked. The song shot to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there long enough for folks to start trying to figure out just how many people were actually in this band. (Three. Despite sounding like a law firm, it was just three guys.)
Lyrically, it’s the sound of a man trying to bargain his way out of a breakup — promising to mow lawns, rub feet, and probably repaint the garage if she’ll just not pull her love out on him, baby. He’s dramatic, a little sweaty, and absolutely convinced that without her, he’ll just waste away like a houseplant in a motel room. And you know what? That energy somehow works.
This one’s fun to sing and even more fun to play — it makes you want to roll your sleeves up and point at people dramatically during the chorus. Don’t fight the urge. This is pure, unapologetic, polyester-suited pop-soul from an era when being over the top was the whole point.
So cue it up, turn it loud, and if you’re lucky, someone might just keep their love from walkin’ out the door — even if only for the length of the song.
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw