Donny Hathaway, I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 156th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” by Donny Hathaway.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 156^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” performed by Donny Hathaway.

“If I ever leave you, baby, you can say I told you so / And if I ever hurt you, you know I hurt myself as well.” Sadly, Donny Hathaway only lived to be 33 years old.  However, he was highly influential on soul music. The Grammy-winning musician possessed one of the most expressive and soulful voices, which he shows off in “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”.  Shockingly, “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” is not a Hathaway original, despite how the once-in-lifetime musician makes it his own. “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” was written by Al Kooper, briefly a member of the iconic, Grammy-winning rock collective, Blood, Sweat & Tears. Blood, Sweat & Tears originally recorded it.  Hathaway covered it on his 1973 album, Extension of a Man. “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” modestly impacted the pop charts, peaking at no. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hathaway is a selfless, trustworthy man in “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.”  In the second verse, he reminds her, “You know I brought it home [my paycheck] to you baby / And I never spent a red cent.” In the third verse, he’s willing to be whatever she wants him to be: “I can be king of everything / Or just a tiny grain of sand.” The centerpiece is the chorus:

“Is that any way for a man to carry on?

Do you think I want my loved one gone?

Said I love you

More than you’ll ever know.”

The verses and chorus aren’t the only sections of “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” to go gaga over.  The bridge, which differentiates itself from the rest of the song, has a strong argument as the section to beat (“I’m not trying to be / Just any kind of man…”).  Part of the reason is the music. Beyond his dramatic, expressive, and soulful vocals, the instrumental accompaniment is divine. It is marvelously orchestrated, embracing the symphonic nature of soul music in the 1970s (winds and strings in addition to the rhythm section). Hathaway was a skilled arranger studying music at Howard University (he dropped out in 1967).  During the bridge, the instrumental is at its best with orchestral touches. Notably, David “Fathead” Newman plays a mean tenor saxophone.  Hathaway also plays (piano and organ) alongside his arranging and singing chops.  Hathaway scored two top 10 hits, neither of which is “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”.  Regardless, this is one of his best songs, showcasing top-notch musicianship.

Donny Hathaway // Extension of a Man // Atlantic // 1973

Donny Hathaway, I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 156 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]