To Be a Lover in early 1969. This version has since been sampled by Ludacris on his song "Growing Pains" from "Word of Mouf", by Jaheim on "Put That Woman First" from "Still Ghetto" and by Dilated Peoples on the song "Worst Comes to Worst". In 1977, the song was covered as a more uptempo reggae number by the Jamaican singer George Faith under the amended title of "To Be a Lover (Have Mercy)" for his Lee "Scratch" Perry-produced album also called "To Be a Lover". In 1986, the track was again reworked and became the second high-profile cover Billy Idol released as a
To Be a Lover single, after 1981's "Mony Mony". Idol would later top the "Billboard" Hot 100 (No. 7 UK), with a live version of "Mony Mony" in 1987. The single was backed by "Whiplash Smile" album track "All Summer Single". Two different 12" singles were also released worldwide (1x UK and 1x Australia), featuring the aforementioned track and two extended remixes of "To Be a Lover (Mother of Mercy Mix)" (6:45) and "Rock'n'Roll Mix" (Australia only). The "Mother of Mercy Mix" differs quite significantly from the single version; it is a harder sounding song, with a prominent heavy guitar riff dominating most of