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"Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)"
UK vinyl variant of European artwork, also used for the back cover of the parent album Secrets
Single by Robert Palmer
from the album Secrets
B-side	"Love Can Run Faster"
Released	June 1979
Genre	Pop rock rock arena rock
Length	3:10
Label	Island Records
Songwriter(s)	Moon Martin
Robert Palmer singles chronology
"Every Kinda People" (1978) "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" (1979) "Can We Still Be Friends" (1979)
Music video
"Robert Palmer - Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) [Official Video]" on YouTube

"Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" is a 1978 song, written and originally recorded by Moon Martin and sung a year later by Robert Palmer. The song became one of Palmer's definitive hits.

Background

Moon Martin originally recorded the song in 1978. Martin's record label Capitol Records released the song in the United Kingdom and Spain as a stand-alone vinyl single but inserted the song into the United States release of Martin's album Shots from a Cold Nightmare. His original recording did not enter the music charts.

Robert Palmer version

A year later, the song appeared on Robert Palmer's album Secrets. In Palmer's home country, the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at #61 on the UK Singles Chart on July 7, 1979.

The version became more successful in other countries. In the United States, Palmer's version reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #10 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on the Canadian RPM chart in 1979. The Palmer version was remixed with heavier guitars and drums for his greatest hits collection Addictions: Volume 1. The song was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. In the Netherlands, it reached #2 on the Dutch Top 40 chart on August 4, 1979, five weeks after its debut (July 7) on the chart. In New Zealand, it reached #20 in the Top 40 Singles Chart on the week of October 7, 1979, five weeks after its debut at #43 on the chart (September 9).

The song begins with a stanza written in typical eight-bar blues structure and chord sequence and then progresses to a 10-bar blues chorus.

Billboard reviewer Ed Harrison praised Palmer's rendition as "the kind of intelligent rock tune."

Other covers

Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1992 slasher film Dr. Giggles. Mexican-American singer Tatiana recorded a Spanish-language cover version in 1994 for her album Un Alma Desnuda and was released as the second single from the album. A cover version of the chorus also is part of the theme of the American syndicated series The Doctors. Australian Adam Brand and the Outlaws covered the song on the 2016 album Adam Brand and the Outlaws.

Chart performance

References

1. Palmer, Robert. Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) (Media notes). Island Records / EMI Records. WIP 6481.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Robert Palmer Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
3. Leszczak, Bob (10 July 2014). "Bad Case of Loving You". Who Did It First? Great Rock and Roll Cover Songs and Their Original Artists. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-4422-3321-8. LCCN 2014000482. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
4. ^ "Search results for 'Bad Case of Lovin' You (Doctor Doctor)'". Official Charts. United Kingdom. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
5. "Week 31 (4 Augustus 1979)". Media Markt Top 40. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
6. ^ "Robert Palmer – 'Bad Case Of Lovin' You (Doctor, Doctor)'". Media Markt Top 40. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
7. "07 October 1979". The Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
8. "09 September 1979". The Official NZ Music Charts. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
9. Harrison, Ed (4 August 1979). "Closeup: 'Robert Palmer – Secrets, Island ILPS9544 (WB)'". Billboard. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
10. Foywonder (December 7, 2013). "B-Sides: We've Got a Bad Case of Dr. Giggles". dreadcentral.com. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
11. "Tatiana — Un Alma Desnuda". iTunes (in Spanish). December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 228. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
13. "Robert Palmer – Bad Case Of Lovin' You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
14. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
15. ^ "Song artist 304 - Robert Palmer". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
16. "Robert Palmer – Bad Case Of Lovin' You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
17. "Robert Palmer – Bad Case Of Lovin' You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
18. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
19. "Cash Box Top 100 9/29/79". Tropicalglen.com. 1979-09-29. Archived from the original on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
20. "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 2020-12-03 – via Imgur.com.
21. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
22. "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
23. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1979". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2016-04-12.

• 1978 songs
• 1979 singles
• Robert Palmer (singer) songs
• Island Records singles
• RPM Top Singles number-one singles