RIDGEFIELD — Darlene Love, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy winner, Oscar-winning film star, author, Broadway actress, and women’s heart health advocate says she is working up a very special set of love songs to perform with her band when she arrives on stage at The Ridgefield Playhouse for its Valentine’s Day fundraising event.

In a recent, exclusive chat with The Newtown Bee, the iconic talent who has been singing joyfully since childhood, and who has worked with or supported historic musical personalities from Phil Spector, Sam Cooke, and Elvis Presley to Tom Jones, The Beach Boys, and even Cheech & Chong, is promising a show that will keep everyone’s pulse racing and toes tapping.

After originating the tune “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on the 1963 holiday compilation album, A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector, Love says she finds it “amazing after being the ‘Christmas Queen’ for so long, now people are starting to hire me for Valentine’s Day because of my name,” Love told The Bee.

Love said her show will include many of the favorites she is known for, including her first hit, “He’s a Rebel,” along with other familiar numbers such as “Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home),” “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” “Where Is the Love,” and “Wait Til My Bobby Gets Home.”

“We’ll be adding some flavor into the show — and we make the audience a part of the show — but I’m not going to spoil the surprises,” she said. “I think I have some of the best musicians, and they love the music. It’s all brand new arrangements, but it sounds like what I did back in the ‘60s. I love doing this Valentine’s Day show because it ends up being something very special for the audience.”

Credited by Rolling Stone magazine as “One of the Greatest 100 Singers of All Time,” Love’s set will be the culmination of the Playhouse’s Valentine’s Day celebration that kicks off at 6:30 pm with a free glass of bubbly for every ticket holder, chocolates, and raffles to win jewelry, a spa package from Adam Broderick Salon & Spa, and a “Date Night” that includes a chauffeur-driven BMW (from BMW of Ridgefield) for the evening, dinner for two at Bernard’s, and tickets to the Playhouse show of the winner’s choice.

For those who may only know her from that infectious holiday mega-hit, or maybe as Danny Glover’s tolerant wife in the Lethal Weapon series of action films, get ready for a whole new and thrilling Love affair.

Besides backing more than 200 famous musicians and releasing five of her own solo albums, Love appeared in the Oscar-winning 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, which also netted her a Grammy. She has also held many roles in various Broadway productions. She acted and sang in Grease, in the short-lived musical adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie, and starred as Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway’s Hairspray.

And whether it was the wild parties Tom Jones used to throw, how Elvis came on to her backstage at his 1968 comeback special, or her love affair with Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers, Love holds nothing back in her dishy and dramatic autobiography, My Name is Love. Those tales have also inspired an autobiographical film currently on the drawing board with a development deal from Oprah Winfrey, according to her website.

Besides being famous for her Christmas season anthem, and for being a popular Valentine’s Day act, Love is also a contributor to one of the biggest Halloween songs, “The Monster Mash,” and also backed the stoner comedy duo Cheech & Chong on their 1973 Billboard hit “Basketball Jones.”

“You really have to trust your producers, because they often hear things a performer doesn’t hear,” Love said of the pitch to join Michelle Philips and the late Ronnie Spector on the comedy track. “Our producer assured us that it’s gonna be great. And sure enough, people still want to talk about those [novelty] songs, ‘Monster Mash’ and ‘Basketball Jones.’”

Love, as mentioned, is also a vocal advocate for women’s heart health and a former Go Red spokesperson for the American Heart Association. As the story goes, on the day almost a decade ago when Love was set to perform in Asbury Park, N.J., she woke up with a abdominal pain and a headache.

Not wanting to cancel the show, she powered through it and even stayed late to sign autographs. A day later she saw her longtime doctor, who referred her to a cardiologist who insisted that she head straight to the hospital, where she received two heart stents. She was released on her 71st birthday.

“I still go out and talk about it,” Love said. “You know, I always worked out since I was 16. I worked out in my house, and as I got older I learned that you have to take care of your body to enjoy longevity and your voice. And one of the most important things I had to learn to do was to get my rest — that includes vocal chord rest.”

A 2020 feature at Heart.org recounts that after her cardiac emergency and surgery, she became even more diligent, eliminating things like candy and sweetened beverages. She continued seeing her doctors regularly and began taking medicine to control her cholesterol.

“I do whatever my doctor says,” she said. “I want to do whatever I can to make sure I don’t have another heart attack.”

Love’s heart story is unique because she did not have the typical warning signs, such as chest pain or a shooting pain down the arm, the article states.

“I’m telling you, it’s different for everybody,” she said. “My doctor said, ‘You either have a heart attack and die, or you have a heart attack and live.’ I’m so grateful to be on the living side.”

Growing up a woman of color in the man’s world of the music business, Love said during many moments tucked away in the private confines of recording booths, it was often the women who took the lead “making those records better after trying out all kinds of different harmonies.”

“One of the hardest things to get past was an attitude that we didn’t know what we were doing,” she said. “We run entire households while they’re gone, running smoothly, and keeping the peace. So don’t go saying we don’t know what we’re doing. We had just as much imagination as any man had, and don’t forget — 95% of those background singers were women.”

For more information or to purchase touchless print at home tickets for the Darlene Love Playhouse Fundraiser ($75-$85) go to ridgefieldplayhouse.org or call the box office at 203-438-5795.

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Editor John Voket can be reached at editor@thebee.com.

Check out Darlene Love performing her hit "Today I Met The Boy I'm Going To Marry."

Darlene Love hit the big time with the monster hit "He's a Rebel." Watch her perform it, live at BB King's in New York City.