Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City

"Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" is a 1974 R&B song written by Michael Price and Dan Walsh, and first recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland for his Dreamer album on the ABC Dunhill label.

Background
While it is ostensibly a love song, some critics and fans have also heard it as a lament on urban poverty and hopelessness, as well as a lament upon the struggle to achieve one's goals in life in the absence of external support. "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City" remains a cult favorite, and is considered a classic.

Chart performance
In the US, Bland scored a top ten hit on the Hot Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at #9, as well as peaking at #91 on the Hot 100.

Cover versions and samples
It is known through several cover versions and samples:
 * A well-known cover of the song is by the hard rock band Whitesnake, who included it on their 1978 debut EP, Snakebite, and again as a live recording on Live...in the Heart of the City. The cover was the new band's first hit, and it became a staple of their live set.
 * For his 2001 album The Blueprint, rapper Jay-Z recorded the song "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)," a Kanye West-produced track built around a sample of Bobby Bland's chartmaking rendition.

Other notable cover versions have been recorded by:
 * Bobby Bazini - on his sophomore album “Where I Belong”(folk/soul, 2014)
 * The cover version by reggae singer Al Brown even changes most of the lyrics to magnify the emphasis of the lyrics.
 * Barrett Strong (R&B, 1976)
 * Café Jacques - on the album Round the Back' (rock, 1977)
 * Grady Tate (jazz, 1977)
 * Long John Baldry (blues, 1977)
 * Kate Taylor (rock, 1979)
 * Crystal Gayle (country, 1980)
 * Herman Brood (rock, Bühnensucht, live recording, 1985)
 * Chris Farlowe (R&B, 1985)
 * Ruthless Blues (blues, 1989)
 * Walter "Wolfman" Washington (New Orleans R&B, on 1991 album Sada)
 * The Good Earth (pop/rock, 1994)
 * Mick Abrahams (rock, 1996)
 * Jørn Lande (hard rock, The Snakes live in Europe 1998)
 * Paul Weller (rock, 1998)
 * Willie Clayton (R&B, 1998, as "Heart of the City")
 * Jay Z (on the album The Blueprint, as "Heart of City (Ain't No Love)", 2001)
 * Mary Coughlan (jazz, 2002)
 * DJ Andrew Unknown & DJ Mekalek (hip hop/rap (intro), 2002)
 * Joey Tempest (rock/metal, 2003)
 * Maggie Bell (rock, 2004, live recording)
 * Vaya Con Dios (rock, 2004)
 * YTcracker (From the "STC Is the Greatest" album, track #16, "spamcity", 2004)
 * Joe Budden (Rap, 2007)
 * Paul Carrack (Blue-Eyed Soul, Pop/Rock, 2008)
 * Allman Brothers (Blues, 2009 live recording)
 * Nicky Moore (blues rock, 2009)
 * GRiZ (sampled on the song "Where's The Love" on the album Mad Liberation, 2012)
 * Lukas Graham (Blue-Eyed Soul, 2012 as "Daddy, Now That You're Gone (Ain't No Love)")
 * Jo Harman And Company (blues, on the album Live At The Royal Albert Hall Recorded 2013, released 2014)
 * Dana Fuchs (On album "Broken Down, acoustic sessions" 2015)
 * Shane Pacey Trio (On album, "Helios" 2016)
 * Supersonic Blues Machine (On the album "West of flushing south of frisco" 2016)
 * C.S. Armstrong (On album, "Ain't No Love" 2016)
 * Zeshan B (On album, "Vetted" 2017)
 * Black Pumas (On the album Black Pumas Deluxe Edition Exclusive 2LP+7", released 2020)
 * DJ Khaled (Sampled on the intro track "THANKFUL", on the album KHALED KHALED, released 2021)
 * Gov't Mule (on the album 'Heavy Load Blues', released 2021)
 * Horace Andy (on album "Midnight Scorchers", released 2022)

Popular culture

 * Jay-Z's version of the song was used in the trailer for the 2007 film American Gangster, in a 2011 Chrysler commercial, as the theme song for the CBS series NYC 22 and a Crown Royal commercial in 2013.
 * The song is featured in the 2009 video game DJ Hero, in "mashed-up" form.
 * The song is played over the opening credits of the 2019 Norwegian time-travel fantasy comedy-drama television series Beforeigners.
 * The song is featured on the soundtracks to the 2009 film Fighting, the 2011 crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer and is also featured in the 2017 movie The Hitman's Bodyguard.
 * The song is featured in episode 5 of Sex Education.
 * The song is also featured in season five of the Netflix series, Last Chance U, which focuses on the lives of Laney College football players and staff within Oakland, CA.
 * In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Aaron Davis of Earth-42 plays a Bobby Bland LP with this song on it.

Charts
Whitesnake