“Young Love (Strong Love)”
The Judds
Written by Paul Kennerley and Kent Robbins
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
May 6, 1989
Sometimes it felt like the Judds were trying to will a better world into existence just by singing hard enough.
“Young Love (Strong Love)” is an idealistic portrait of two small town teenagers who fall for each other early and get their happily ever after in the form of a lifetime commitment: “That night as he held her, he couldn’t believe that God had made a girl he would never, ever leave.”
Wynonna was well into her powerhouse singing days by River of Time, the Judds’ fourth studio album, which makes her choices as a singer here all the more striking. She holds this lyric close to her, delivering it with the intimacy of a child’s lullaby, as if it’s all so beautiful and fragile that she has to be gentle with it.
And it is. More so even than “I Hope You Dance,” this song captures what most parents wish most for their children: a soul mate who will care for them until the end of their days. No wonder “Mama cried as Billy slipped the ring on her hand, and when the baby was born, she was crying again.”
The Judds still have a handful of excellent singles on the way from their final two albums as a duo, but they won’t top the charts again with a record as good as this one.
“Young Love (Strong Love)” gets an A.
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It was great to have the version of The Judds that I liked best back! This is near the top of my list of favorite Judds songs, and possibly even at the top of the pyramid. Wynonna’s vocal performance perfectly articulates the youthful vulnerability of a pair of likeable and relatable young people embarking on the journey of their lifetimes. An unwaveringly joyful depiction of lifelong love served as a pleasing contrast to the previous chart-topper by Rodney Crowell, which articulated a more nuanced lifelong love story. I never made any kind of previous connection of “Young Love” to “I Hope You Dance” and I’m still no more than halfway there in detecting any symmetry, but the full circle closing lyric certainly hints at the couple being witness to their own child having a comparable experience.
It’s a bit of a mystery to me that “Young Love” gets little to no recurrent radio play compared to most of the Judds’ other chart-toppers. I’ve noticed the same with Patty Loveless’ “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye”, suggesting some agreement among radio programmers with your previous observation that “nothing ages worse than yesterday’s sentimentality”. At best, however, the perception is hit or miss as a number of sentimental songs from the era continue to get recurrent radio play. As somebody who never quit devouring these songs since they were released, I mostly can’t abide by the theory because the majority of them still continue to have their intended effect on me.
Grade: A
The biggest stars from the ’80s hold a special and dear spot in my heart. You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan than me of Charley Pride, John Conlee, The Oak Ridge Boys, or Mickey Gilley.
I hope this feature has demonstrated the insane diversity of style and sound that defined the decade, at least at the top of the charts.
Still, it is damn-near impossible to ignore the sense that the country music genre experienced a wholesale re-boot in the late ’80s.
The final year of this feature has produced a prodigious amount of amazing material, true generational classic singles recorded by soon-to-be iconic artists.
Within this window of opportunity, a wonderful interplay between the old and the new plays out within the field, complete with the creative tension created by the dark-side of prematurely derailed careers.
Add this pluperfect Judds masterpiece to the list of classic hits to emerge from that country music crucible.
The wonder of this song’s premise is the assumption that “old” love is still alive to recognize and celebrate the emergence of “young love.” The song’s structure frames this cyclical conceit and context by opening and closing the story with the same suggestive couplet: “She was sitting cross-legged on the hood of Ford/Filing down her nails with an emory board.”
The wheel turns and time marches on.
This song is as close to a the perfect country song as is Hal Ketchum’s “Small Town Saturday Night” from the following decade.
“Young Love” is sentimental, sincere, and special. The vocals are adoringly tender, reverential really.
All the delightful details and narrative nuances from baseball caps to the hardware store to opening the door to Betty to Billy feel personal.
My heart still aches with joy and my eyes get misty with the sweetness of this performance every time I hear it.
The song is a faith statement.
Country music does not get much sweeter than this.
Another classic!
Anyone else ever think that “She is His Only Need” was kind of a sequel to this song?
Yes! I have always thought that glad it’s not just me