"Bad Case of Loving You" 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.
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 7 July 1979. The version became more successful in other countries. In the United States, Palmer's version reached #14 on the BillboardHot 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 . The song was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. In the Netherlands, it reached #2 on the Dutch Top 40 chart on 4 August 1979, five weeks after its debut on the chart. In New Zealand, it reached #20 in the Top 40 Singles Chart on the week of 7 October 1979, five weeks after its debut at #43 on the chart. 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. Other uses of mixing bar structure include "Bird Dog", recorded by The Everly Brothers and written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1957, which has a 12-bar blues stanza and an eight-bar blues chorus. "Bad Case of Loving You", however, is an example of mixing the rarer 10-bar blues structure in charted country compositions. Billboard reviewer Ed Harrison praised Palmer's rendition as "the kind of intelligent rock tune." In 1988, the song was used in the Season One episode of the TV seriesMidnight Caller entitled "After It Happened".
Other covers
singer Paul Rodgers covered the song for the soundtrack of the 1992 slasher filmDr. Giggles. Mexican-American singer Tatiana recorded a Spanish-language cover version in 1994 for her album Un Alma Desnuda and was released as the second single from the album. A cover version of the chorus also is part of the theme of the American syndicated series The Doctors. Australian Adam Brand and the Outlaws covered the song on the 2016 album Adam Brand and the Outlaws.
