“Love Gets Me Every Time”
Shania Twain
Written by Robert John “Mutt” Lange and Shania Twain
Billboard
#1 (5 weeks)
November 8 – December 6, 1997
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
November 14, 1997
Shania Twain launches the biggest country album and biggest female album of all time.
The Road to No. 1
After “No One Needs to Know” became the fourth No. 1 hit from The Woman in Me, “Home Ain’t Where His Heart is (Anymore)” went top thirty. A remixed and extended version of “God Bless the Child” was the eighth and final single from the history-making album, which was the biggest seller ever by a female country artist at the time. After a short hiatus, Twain previewed her third album, Come On Over, with her longest-running No. 1 country hit to date.
The No. 1
“Love Gets Me Every Time” spent five weeks at No. 1, but it feels like a lost hit these days, mostly because of how massive so many of the other singles from Come On Over would become. But another element is that it is a transitional single, gently easing her country fan base into the more sonically and lyrically adventurous material that is featured on the rest of the album.
On its own, it’s still a solid Shania Twain entry, with a catchy fiddle hook and a playful vocal performance. Twain is such a northern girl that us Yankees are her southern neighbors, yet she credibly builds an entire upbeat love song around the southern expression “gol’ darn gone and done it,” which thankfully was left out of the song’s title.
That it’s only the album’s tenth or eleventh best single out of the twelve released is a reminder of just how hungry radio was for some new material from her, but also just how stacked the album was with radio-friendly gems.
The Road From No. 1
Twain followed “Love Gets Me Every Time” with the top ten hit, “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You),” which was eventually a huge pop hit in Europe three years after the album’s release. Twain then released three consecutive No. 1 hits from Come On Over. We’ll cover them all in 1998.
“Love Gets Me Every Time” gets a B+.
Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties
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Only the tenth or eleventh best single from the album?! It’s one of my favorites by her period, just because it’s so fun. Some of the singles are overly hokey, whereas this is the right amount ha.
Well, if we stick to the country radio versions, I’d bump it up a couple of slots! The only single I didn’t care for was “Rock This Country.” I would’ve put out “Whatever You Do! Don’t!” instead. But it’s hard to armchair critic the marketing strategy for the biggest selling country album of all time.
I’m personally not big on “Don’t Be Stupid” either. I mean, it worked as a single, I’m just not a big fan. The title track and “I’m Holding On” are fine, but not as fun or catchy as “Love Gets Me Every Time” to me. I also find “That Don’t Impress Me Much” to be lame, but I know I’m in the minority.
I don’t think “That Don’t Impress Me Much” holds up, but I do love “Don’t Be Stupid”, including the arrangement. I like this song, but I notice it’s not in my iTunes, which means I must not love it.
Man, I really miss this kind of pop country! This song is simply pure fun, it’s insanely catchy, and I still enjoy it a lot today. I’m more with Jason with this being one of my personal favorites from Shania.
This is very much the beginning of the typical late 90’s/early 00’s pop country sound, especially with the slick and poppy sound of the drums and percussion and the background vocals. However, it actually still sounds pretty darn country with the in your face fiddle parts and as always excellent steel playing from Paul Franklin. This is actually another late 90’s country song that makes me miss the days when Franklin’s steel playing was like a permanent fixture on country radio. I also love the twangy electric guitar solo and the Dwight Yoakam feel of that little guitar part before each chorus. And this is Shania, for crying out loud, the one who many purists still claim to be one of the first ones who “ruined” country music. Looking back in 2022, those claims seem silly now, especially when looking at this particular song, and then looking at the kind of pop country that’s been on the radio for the past decade or so. For me, I’ll gladly take “Love Gets Me Every Time,” a cute, harmless, fun upbeat song which nicely straddles the line between country and pop and is performed with plenty of playful charm by Shania over 95 percent of what’s been on the radio the last several years that’s frankly either bored me to tears or gotten me fightin’ mad, lol.
Also, as someone who considers herself part northerner and part southerner (especially picked up a lot of southern talk from both my dads) I’m with you on being thankful that the title is just “Love Gets Me Every Time.” lol.
We’re now really getting into yet another one of my very favorite Fall/Winter seasons of country hits with the late 1997/early 1998 period, which brings back wonderful memories from 6th grade, and many other things that were going on in my life then. Unfortunately though, I didn’t quite love “Love Gets Me Every Time” from the get go. More than anything, I was mostly annoyed that it seemed to get played on the radio just about every hour, and I remember already being sick of it not too long after it came out. At the time, I was also not a big fan of this slicker pop influenced production style, and I thought the backup vocals that echoed “gone and done it” in the chorus were kind of lame. At 12 years old, you would’ve thought I’d eaten this one all up, but the songs I was enjoying the most on the radio at this time were stone country offerings like Daryle Singletary’s “The Note,” George Strait’s “Round About Way,” Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Seem To Miss Me,” and Trace Adkins’ “The Rest Of Mine.” Looking back now, I’d give anything to be able to go back to this time when fun and creative pop country smashes from Shania were being played alongside more traditional material. I mean, just looking here, it’s amazing to see that one of Mark Chesnutt’s best singles was number one before “Love Gets Me Every Time” while George Strait doing a Vern Gosdin cover is number one not long after!
Despite not caring much for “Love Gets Me Every Time” at the time, I still often had it stuck in my head during some of my 6th grade classes. It even still reminds me of two classmates in my science class who used to make fun of my sniffling habit at the time (I had bad allergies), although one of them ended up being a friend of mine later on. However, once the airplay for it started dying down a bit, it actually started to grow on me, and I remember thinking later on, “Hey, this actually isn’t half bad, and I kinda like it!” I especially remember really digging those Dwight Yoakam like guitar licks and the “I had it covered, ’til I discovered” rhyme. Now, I absolutely love it, and I count it among one of my many favorites from the late 1997/early 1998 Fall/Winter period.
Btw, the “Love Gets Me Every Time” video is also one of my personal favorite ones from her, as well. She is absolutely gorgeous in it, and it looks like she had quite a lot of fun making it!
I’m quite bummed and especially surprised to learn that “Don’t Be Stupid” was only top ten and not another number one. Since the Come On Over album and era is so huge and iconic, I always assumed that at least all the first six or seven singles were number ones. Anyway, I actually love “Don’t Be Stupid” even more than this one. I especially love how creatively it’s arranged with the fancy fiddles and the cool whispering parts at the end of each chorus. It also brings back all the usual great memories I have from the late 1997/early 1998 period, such as sixth grade, playing Diddy Kong Racing, and going to Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, VA. I especially remember having it stuck in my head while inside the Hecht’s (now Macy’s) in the mall one night. I also absolutely love its Riverdance themed music video which brings back great memories of seeing it often on GAC and when my parents and I were into the whole Riverdance phenomenon back in the late 90’s. :)