"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.[3]
Robert Palmer version
A year later, the song appeared on Robert Palmer's 1979 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.[4]
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.[citation needed] In the Netherlands, it reached #2 on the
Dutch Top 40 chart on August 4, 1979,[5] five weeks after its debut (July 7) on the chart.[6] In New Zealand, it reached #20 in the
Top 40 Singles Chart on the week of October 7, 1979,[7] five weeks after its debut at #43 on the chart (September 9).[8]
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."[9]
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. p. 228.
ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by
ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.