Remember When Annie Lennox and Al Green Released a Duet Together in 1988?

Annie Lennox and Al Green may seem like polar opposites musically. But they sounded like magic when their voices combined on their “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” duet. Written by Jackie DeShannon, her brother, Randy Myers, and Jimmy Holiday, Lennox and Green’s collaboration is on the soundtrack for the 1988 film Scrooged, starring Bill Murray and John Forsythe.

“Put A Little Love In Your Heart” was first released by DeShannon in 1969. A Top 5 single for DeShannon, inspired by the words of her mother, it remains the biggest hit of her career.

The feel-good song starts with, “Think of your fellow man / Lend him a helping hand / Put a little love in your heart / You see it’s getting late / Oh, please don’t hesitate / Put a little love in your heart.”

In addition to Lennox and Green, other artists who put their own spin on “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” include Susan Raye and The Dave Clark Five.

The Importance of “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” by Annie Lennox and Al Green

By 1988, both Lennox and Green were having plenty of success on their own. When Lennox and Green released “Put A Little Love In Your Heart”, Lennox was fronting The Eurythmics with Dave Stewart. Green also had an incredibly successful career, which by 1988 had lasted more than 20 years.

Lennox and Green’s take on “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” became a Top 10 single for the pair, and an important one. When “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” was released, it had been 14 years since Green reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with “Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)”, out in 1974. In 1976, Green had his last Top 40 hit until this song, with “Keep Me Cryin’”. 

Meanwhile, Lennox was also at a bit of a career crossroads as well. The Eurythmics fared better in their native United Kingdom. But their last Top 10 hit in the United States came in 1985 with “Would I Lie To You”.

In 1992, Lennox launched her solo career with her debut album, Diva. “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” is Lennox’s first release on her own. She had one Top 20 hit with “Walking On Broken Glass”, released in 1992. “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” is her biggest hit as a solo artist.

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