Get It Up for Love — a vibrant rush of desire, wrapped in the warm glow of ’70s soul-pop
There are songs that whisper, songs that comfort — and then there are songs like “Get It Up for Love”, which burst in with a pulse full of longing, urgency, and the bold spirit of the mid-1970s. Sung with newfound maturity by David Cassidy, the track stands as a vivid reminder of a moment when he stepped beyond the gilded image of teen idol and into the deeper, more soulful territory he had longed to claim.
Important details first:
- “Get It Up for Love” was released in July 1975 as a double A-side single with “I Write the Songs.”
- In the UK, it reached No. 11, staying on the charts for several weeks — a strong sign that listeners were ready to hear Cassidy in a new light.
- The track was originally written by Ned Doheny, whose blend of soft-rock and blue-eyed soul shaped the song’s smooth, seductive sound.
By 1975, Cassidy was at a crossroads. The frenzy of his early fame had settled, and now he sought to build a musical life that reflected the person he had become — older, wiser, more aware of life’s complexities. “Get It Up for Love” became one of the clearest expressions of this shift. Instead of the bright, adolescent charm of his earlier hits, here was a song wrapped in sensual rhythms and subtle sophistication, the kind of groove that invited adults — not teenagers — to listen closely.
From the first measures, the arrangement sets a confident tone: warm keyboards, a gentle rhythmic sway, soft backing vocals that cushion his voice. It’s a sound that carries the essence of the 1970s — smoky rooms, late-night conversations, a little danger and a lot of yearning. Cassidy’s vocals glide across the melody with unexpected depth, delivering a performance that is both smooth and quietly insistent.
The lyrics, though simple at first glance, speak to a more mature emotional world. “Get it up for love” isn’t merely a flirtatious plea; it is a call to wake the heart again. The song asks the listener — and perhaps the lover it addresses — not to give up on tenderness, not to let cynicism take root. It’s about choosing to believe again, choosing to reach for connection even when the world feels uncertain.
For Cassidy, this song marked a turning point. He wasn’t trying to recapture the screaming crowds or the dizzy heights of his earliest fame. He was trying to carve out honesty — a sound that felt true to the man he was becoming. The single’s chart success in the UK, despite resistance from more conservative broadcasters at the time, suggested that audiences were ready to accept this evolution. They could hear that his voice had changed — not in tone, but in spirit.
Listening now, “Get It Up for Love” has the warm, nostalgic glow of a long-ago summer evening. It carries memories of open windows, fading sunlight, and those restless hours when hopes were high and hearts were vulnerable. It’s a song made for dim lights and reflective moods, for anyone who remembers the bittersweet dance between desire and uncertainty.
And perhaps that is why the track endures quietly, even today. Not because it was a global hit, not because it defined a generation, but because it captures a moment of truth — a moment when David Cassidy dared to reach for something more heartfelt and more adult. In doing so, he gave listeners a rare gift: a song that pulses with life and emotion, inviting us to remember a time when love still felt bright, brave, and beautifully possible.