Drive-By Truckers, ‘Everybody Needs Love’ – Song Spotlight

Alt-country rockers the Drive-By Truckers spread some universal truth on 'Everybody Needs Love,' the new single from their ninth studio album, 'Go-Go Boots.' The song is a cover, originally performed by one of the band's heroes, '60s and '70s soul singer Eddie Hinton.

Patterson Hood of the Truckers describes Hinton as sounding as if "Otis Redding met Howlin' Wolf somewhere in the middle." The band dedicated an episode of their current IFC mini-documentary series to the impact Hinton's music had on the recording of 'Go-Go Boots.'

But the best way to understand the Drive-By Truckers' love, though, is to listen to 'Everybody Needs Love.' It's a rootsy, shambling ballad, whose vocals sound like they're coming in from an outerspace radio that's tuned so as to just miss getting the signal cleanly.  Still, the simple message resounds:

"Everybody needs love, love love / Everybody needs love, love, love / Just like they need the sun the moon and the stars above."

The Truckers, who were recently chosen by Uncut Magazine as one of the "100 Most Important Bands of the Decade," are already on the road in support of 'Go-Go Boots,' which comes out on Feb. 15.  If you've never seen them live, you owe it to yourself to do so if they come anywhere within reasonable distance of your home.

Listen to the Drive-By Truckers, 'Everybody Needs Love'