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Love Songs You Love To Love

Clockwise from upper left: Bright Eyes, Ed Sheeran, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Peter Gabriel
Courtesy of the artists
Clockwise from upper left: Bright Eyes, Ed Sheeran, Louis Armstrong, Etta James, Peter Gabriel

In honor of Valentine's Day, we asked our listeners to name their ideal romantic song. After receiving over a thousand replies, we tallied the results, listened, swooned (and sometimes scratched our heads). On this week's show, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton count down the top 10 and share a couple of their own favorite love songs.

We also go to the data to break down some myths about music and age, and discuss why — and how — people are still discovering these classic songs. We'll hear hits forever sealed in our pop-cultural consciousness through movies and film, songs of lust, longing and regret as we count down to your most romantic song of all time.

Remember — one person's schmaltz is another person's walk down the aisle. You might roll your eyes at some of these selections, but you might also fall in love.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.