Johnny Rodriguez Hits It Tenderly With “That’s the Way Love Goes”

Country singer Johnny Rodriguez hit the fast lane to popularity with his chart-topping 1972 hit “You Always Come Back Hurting Me.” He then went for the gas, earning another number-one song that same year with “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico.” Riding that momentum, he nabbed his third chart-topper with “That’s the Way Love Goes,” which spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart. 

Meaning Behind the Song

“That’s the Way Love Goes” was written by country singer Lefty Frizzell and songwriting legend Sanger D. Shafer (also known as Whitey Shafer) and was produced by Jerry Kennedy under Mercury. Rodriguez released it in December 1973 as his second single from his album All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing. And this has easily and deservingly become one of his classic hits. 

If you don’t know it yet, Frizzell wasn’t just an influential vocal stylist in the genre. He was also a brilliant songwriter. While he enjoyed success, his songwriting streak sputtered after 1964. And then it rebounded by the early ‘70s when he collaborated with Shafer. And “That’s the Way Love Goes,” along with “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” which they both co-wrote, were two of the best-known songs in his music repertoire. These were also the last few song pieces he penned as he died in 1975 due to a massive stroke.

This track features a very simple structure: a verse, then a chorus, which makes it fun to sing and play. And even more so because it’s a song that celebrates love! As Rodriguez sings tenderly and sweetly, it’s the music that God made for everyone to sing and “It’s never old, it grows. ” 

If you want a soul-comforting song, then make sure to tune in to Johnny Rodriguez’s “That’s the Way Love Goes.”