Johnny Rodriguez’s “That’s the Way Love Goes”: The 1973 Recording That Became His Third Straight No. 1

Johnny Rodriguez’s “That’s the Way Love Goes”: The 1973 Recording That Became His Third Straight No. 1

How a Lefty Frizzell–Sanger D. Shafer composition became another chart-topper for one of country music’s fastest-rising young stars of the 1970s.

A Classic Country Song Finds Johnny Rodriguez

“That’s the Way Love Goes” was written by country great Lefty Frizzell and songwriter Sanger D. “Whitey” Shafer. Frizzell recorded the song for his 1973 album The Legendary, but Johnny Rodriguez soon gave the composition its first major chart success.

Rodriguez recorded the song for his second album, All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing, with Jerry Kennedy producing. Mercury released it as a single in December 1973.

The timing was ideal. Rodriguez had already enjoyed a spectacular breakthrough year, and the new single arrived while he was rapidly establishing himself as one of country music’s most successful young performers.

What Does “That’s the Way Love Goes” Mean?

The song presents love as something powerful, unpredictable and impossible to control completely.

Rather than treating romance as a simple promise of happiness, the lyric accepts that love can bring both pleasure and disappointment. People continue pursuing it despite the emotional risks because attraction and attachment are part of human nature.

That mixture of tenderness and resignation suited Rodriguez’s smooth country delivery. His performance does not force the emotion; instead, it allows the melody and lyric to express a mature acceptance of the way relationships can unfold.

How Strongly Did Audiences Respond?

There is no reliable historical statistic showing exactly how many individual fans the recording created, so chart performance provides a better measure.

The single became Johnny Rodriguez’s third consecutive No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart. It spent one week at the top in February 1974 and a total of 14 weeks on the chart.

In Canada, it reached No. 2 on the RPM country chart.

The song’s durability is also demonstrated by later recordings. Merle Haggard took his own version to No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart in 1984, proving that the Frizzell-Shafer composition could succeed with another generation of listeners.

What Did the Song Do for Johnny Rodriguez’s Career?

“That’s the Way Love Goes” strengthened one of the most impressive early runs by a new country artist in the 1970s.

It followed Rodriguez’s earlier No. 1 singles and became his third consecutive Billboard country chart-topper. That sequence confirmed that his breakthrough was not based on a single successful record.

Rodriguez’s Mexican-American background and occasional use of Spanish also gave him a distinctive identity in mainstream Nashville country music. His success helped make him one of the most prominent Latino country performers of his era.