“Love the One You're With” by Stephen Stills

"Love the One You're With" kicked off Stephen Stills' first solo album in November 1970, and the idea came from a passing remark Stills heard from Billy Preston. He turned it into a joyous sing-along, and it went on to be the biggest hit single he ever had, reaching No. 14 on Billboard's Hot 100 early in 1971.

Stills wrote it alone and co-produced it with Bill Halverson, with Andy Johns engineering, and he's all over the record: lead vocal, guitar, organ, percussion and steelpan, which gives the thing its sunny, island lilt, with Calvin Samuels on bass and Jeff Whittaker on congas. The backing chorus is a who's-who of the scene: David Crosby and Graham Nash from Crosby, Stills & Nash, Rita Coolidge and her sister Priscilla, and John Sebastian, all singing like the party's just getting started.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.