To Be a Lover

"I Forgot to Be Your Lover"
"I Forgot to Be Your Lover"
Single by William Bell
B-side	"Bring the Curtain Down"
Released	November 1968
Recorded	1968
Genre	Southern soul
Length	2:19
Label	Stax
Songwriter(s)	William Bell; Booker Jones;
Producer(s)	Booker T. Jones
William Bell singles chronology

"To Be a Lover" is a song written by William Bell and Booker T. Jones originally as "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", but best known as a cover by Billy Idol on his third studio album Whiplash Smile (1986). As the album's lead single, it became Idol's second top ten hit in the US, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100^[2] and No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.^[3]

^ Breihan, Tom (26 March 2021). "The Number Ones: Billy Idol's "Mony Mony". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 November 2023. In 1986, Idol made it back into the top 10, when his cover of the William Bell Southern-soul oldie "To Be A Lover" reached #6.
^ Cite error: The named reference Charts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 266. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[Breihan_2021-1] Breihan, Tom (26 March 2021). "The Number Ones: Billy Idol's "Mony Mony". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 November 2023. In 1986, Idol made it back into the top 10, when his cover of the William Bell Southern-soul oldie "To Be A Lover" reached #6.

[Charts-2] Cite error: The named reference Charts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-3] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 266. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

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