The song's origin was "I Can't Turn Around", the lead single from Isaac Hayes' 1975 album Chocolate Chip. This album was notable for being the first on which Hayes moved on from funk to embrace the then-fashionable disco sound. Hayes' original version remained a club favourite for many years and was often played at the Warehouse, the influential Chicago nightclub which was the focus of the house music scene in the early 1980s.
In 1986, Steve "Silk" Hurley, working under the name J.M. Silk, recorded a house version of the song with vocalist Keith Nunnally, which reached number one on the Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart.
"Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (1986)
Hearing Steve Hurley's version of the song, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, who was living with Hurley at the time, teamed up with producer Jesse Saunders to make his own version. Keeping some of Hurley's instrumental arrangement and the basslineriff from Hayes' original, Farley changed the hook line from "I Can't Turn Around" to "Love Can't Turn Around" and dropped the rest of Hayes' original lyric, substituting new words by Vince Lawrence. In some versions, for example the "Vocal Club" version and the radio edit, he also inserted a chorus section sung by female vocalists, and a synthesizer played piano melody. The lead vocals on Farley's version were performed by Darryl Pandy, who had a Broadway and opera background and been a lead performer with the choir of Chicago's Church of Universal Awareness. Pandy also performed the song in the official music video and did a "flamboyant performance" on the British TV showTop of the pops that made him famous. Parryls performance can be heard best and most extensively on the "Vocal Club Mix", the "Houseappella" and the "Dub Can' Turn Around" versions of the song. Farley's record was a club hit, but also crossed over into the mainstream in the UK, where it was released by London Records. The track entered the UK Singles Chart in the week ending August 27, 1986, and peaked at number 10 five weeks later. At the time, writing credits were given to Farley Keith and Vince Lawrence, though it was later agreed through a deal with Universal Music that Hayes' song was the inspiration, and it is now officially credited to Hayes. Following the success of Farley's "Love Can't Turn Around", J.M. Silk's version of "I Can't Turn Around" also charted in the UK, reaching a peak of number 62. In 1996, Farley's version was re-released in the UK, and peaked at number #40.
Impact and legacy
Fact put the song at number 7 in their list of 21 diva-house belters that still sound incredible in 2014. Time Out magazine's 2015 list of The 20 Best House Tracks Ever included "Love Can't Turn Around" as #13, adding:
"Originally a riff on a proto-house classic, Isaac Hayes's 1975 disco foray 'I Can't Turn Around', this collaboration between turbo-lunged singer Darryl Pandy and Farley Keith blew the roof off house music at the time. It still has the distinction of being a true crossover hit that's maintained its dancefloor appeal decades on."
The different mixes of the song
Love Can't Turn Around, 12"
House Records, FU-10 / London Records, LONX 105
Love Can't Turn Around, 12"
House Records, FU-11
Love Can't Turn Around, 12"
D.J. International Records, LONXR 105
Love Can't Turn Around, 7"
London Records, LON 105
Love Can't Turn Around, 7"
D.J. International Records, D.J. 7-2001-31
The House Sound Of Chicago Vol. 1, 2-LP compilation
D.J. International Records, D.J. 33-3002-43
The History Of The House Sound Of Chicago, 16-LP compilation
