Buck Owens & Susan Raye – Love Is Strange

About The Song

“Love Is Strange” was released by Buck Owens & Susan Raye as a single in June 1975 on Capitol Records (catalog 4100). It served as the A-side paired with “Sweethearts In Heaven” and became one of their later duet hits during a period when the pair had already scored several Top 40 country successes together. The track was produced in the classic Bakersfield Sound style with prominent electric guitar, steady shuffle rhythm, and the duo’s signature tight harmonies and playful call-and-response vocals that echoed the original’s conversational charm.
The song originated as a 1956 crossover hit by Mickey & Sylvia, written by Mickey Baker, Bo Diddley (credited under his wife’s name Ethel Smith due to a publishing dispute), and Sylvia Robinson. Owens and Raye’s version stays faithful to the playful, flirtatious structure while giving it a warm country twist. The lyrics revolve around the unpredictable nature of romance through a back-and-forth dialogue: “Love is strange / A lot of people take it for a game.” The spoken exchanges—complete with the famous “How do you call it?” and “Love is strange” refrains—create an intimate, teasing exchange between the singers, highlighting confusion, attraction, and the mysterious pull of love. Verses explore how love can “make you do things you don’t want to do” and leave people bewildered, delivered with Owens’ signature twang and Raye’s bright, responsive vocals.
The single climbed into the Top 20 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1975, peaking within the upper ranks and helping sustain the duo’s popularity on country radio. It later appeared on the 1976 compilation Best of Buck Owens Vol. 6, which collected their joint material alongside solo tracks. The recording captured the easy chemistry the pair had developed through earlier duets, turning the R&B/pop classic into a smooth country conversation piece that fit naturally alongside their honky-tonk-flavored hits.

Video

Lyric

Love love is strange yeah yeah
Lot of people take it for a game
Once you get it you never wanna quit, no, no
After you’ve had you’re in and up for fix

Many people don’t understand, no, no
They think loving is money in the hand
Your sweet loving is better than a kiss, yeah, yeah
When you leave me the kisses I miss

Oh, Susan
Yeah
How d’you call your lover boy?
Come here, lover boy
And if he doesn’t answer?
Oh, lover boy
And if he still doesn’t answer?
I simply say

Baby, whoa, baby
My sweet baby, you’re the one

Baby, whoa, baby yeah, yeah
My sweet baby, you’re the one
You’re the one
You’re the one
You’re the one