(written by Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, Todd Cerney & Pat Bunch)
Restless Heart (#1 country, #33 pop, 1987)
When
Restless Heart crossed over “I’ll Still Be Loving You” from the country
chart to #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, it marked the first
time since 1984’s “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” that a country
hit also reached the Top 40 on the pop playlist. “I’ll Still Be Loving
You” earned Restless Heart its first Grammy nomination, but it was a
struggle from start to finish.
The song’s writers, Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy had written hits for Janie Fricke, Lee Greenwood and Crystal Gayle, and worked together in an all-female quartet called “Calamity Jane.” Breaking from the group and changing to a duet act named “Kennedy Rose,” the ladies signed a recording contract with Pangaea Records, which went nowhere.
However, success would be found in their songwriting talents. Pam and Mary Ann composed “I’ll Still Be Loving You” while visiting in the home of former Billboard Magazine country editor Kip Kirby. Kip’s husband Todd Cerney was showing off his music room to the ladies, which was filled with synthesizers and drum machines. They sat down at the synthesizers and Rose started this progression. Then Cerney started playing along on his guitar and Kennedy began developing lyrics. An hour later, a good part of “I’ll Still Be Loving You” had been assembled.
Mary Ann decided on the title and a general lyrical framework, but she couldn’t piece together the details. The song languished for about a year until they contacted songwriter Pat Bunch. It took her less than a half-hour to finish it. The writers then pitched “I’ll Still Be Loving You” to Kenny Rogers, who turned it down.
The song ended up in the hands of Tim Dubois and a group he was producing at the time, Restless Heart. Dubois recognized the tremendous potential of “I’ll Still Be Loving You,” but the group was having a lot of problems making the song work. The demo had all been done with synthesizers which proved problematical to adapt, plus it was too short.
Lead vocalist Larry Stewart and guitarist Greg Jennings refused to give up on it. Finally, Jennings suggested a “James Taylorish” guitar arrangement and they added an acoustic instrumental bridge. Group member Dave Innis remembered that “I’ll Still Be Loving You” was not a standard three-chord song. It required very intricate fine-tuning and took an abundance of effort by everyone involved to make it work. Innis described it as “The song that did not want to be recorded,” and reiterated that “It was a tough one to do.”
The diligence paid off handsomely, as “I’ll Still Be Loving You” not only reached number one on Billboard’s country singles chart on March 21, 1987 and made the Top 40 on the pop listings, but it has become one of the most popular songs played at weddings since its 1987 release.
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