‘Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)’ is the debut single by Edison Lighthouse. The song reached the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart on the week ending 31 January 1970, where it remained for five weeks. The song was written by Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason and was first recorded by Geoff Turton as "Jefferson" but not released until years later. Tony Burrows with session musicians recorded it next. ‘Love Grows’ entered the UK top 40 at No. 12 on 24 January 1970 – an unusually high new entry for a debut act. A week later, the track climbed eleven places to No. 1, becoming the first new UK chart-topper of the 1970s. After a five-week stay at the top, ‘Love Grows’ dropped to No. 4, replaced by ‘Wand'rin' Star’ by Lee Marvin.
The British producers Tony Macaulay and Barry Mason wrote this song with Sylvan Mason, who was Barry's wife at the time. (Sylvan is often uncredited, but her divorce agreement provides hard evidence that she co-wrote this song and the Tom Jones hit ‘Delilah.’) The song is about a free spirit named Rosemary who leaves the singer besotted. Many have claimed to be the actual Rosemary the song is about, but Sylvan Mason says that, like Delilah, no such person exists. She said in an interview: "Tony [Macaulay] came over with a melody and rough idea for a song, which title originally was 'It's My Heart You'll Be Breaking Apart,' but he said he wanted to put a girl's name in the title because that's what sold records in those days. The girl's name Rosemary fitted with the title so we started the song from scratch merely using the name Rosemary."
In the U.S., the Edison Lighthouse version of ‘Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)’ came close to facing competition from a cover version that ABC-Dunhill Records wished to cut with well-established top 40 hitmakers The Grass Roots; however, the latter group passed on the song, reportedly because Grass Roots frontman Rob Grill balked at singing a love song that might be presumed to reference co-member Warren Entner's wife Rosemarie Frankland. Issued in the U.S. in February 1970, ‘Love Grows’ by Edison Lighthouse entered the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 dated 28 February 1970 at No. 68, to reach a peak position of No. 5 on 28 March, remaining there for two weeks, and staying in the US top 40 for 12 weeks. ‘Love Grows’ reached number 3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and number 3 in South Africa in February 1970.
Label – Bell
Songwriters – Tony Macaulay, Barry Mason
Producer – Tony Macaulay
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]She ain't got no money
Her clothes are kinda funny
Her hair is kinda wild and free
Oh, but love grows
Where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me
[Verse 2]
She talks kinda lazy
And people say she's crazy
And her life's a mystery
Oh, but love grows
Where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me
[Chorus]
There's something about
Her hand holding mine
It's a feeling that's fine
And I just gotta say, hey!
She's really got a magical spell
And it's working so well
That I can't get away
[Verse 3]
I'm a lucky fella
And I just got to tell her
That I love her endlessly
Because love grows
Where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me
[Chorus]
There's something about
Her hand holding mine
It's a feeling that's fine
And I just gotta say, hey!
She's really got a magical spell
And it's working so well
That I can't get away
[Verse 4]
I'm a lucky fella
And I just got to tell her
That I love her endlessly
Because love grows
Where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me
[Outro]
It keeps growing every place she's been
And nobody knows like me
If you've met her, you'll never forget her
Nobody knows like me
La-la, believe it when you've seen it
(Nobody knows like me) No...