Peter McCann

Singer/songwriter Peter McCann posed the query in his track "Do You Wanna Make Love?" The record-buying public responded affirmatively, turning the single into a million-selling Top Five pop hit during 1977. McCann also penned Jennifer Warnes' pop hit "Right Time of the Night."

Raised in Bridgeport, CT, McCann participated in various singing ensembles throughout his youth. Jesuit priests awarded him a glee club college scholarship to a small Catholic institution in Fairfield, CT, where the group performed 30 concerts annually—an experience that proved formative. Following graduation, he joined the rock band Repairs. One year later the ensemble secured a deal with Motown and cut two albums under producer Andrew Loog Oldham (the Rolling Stones). In September 1974 the majority of the members relocated to Los Angeles and performed in clubs six nights weekly. After two exhausting weeks McCann departed the group, married, and committed to songwriting on a full-time basis.

An appointment at ABC Music with Rick Weiser led to an introduction to Hal Yoergler. Following multiple discussions and guidance from Yoergler, McCann took a staff writing role at the company.

The concept for "Do You Wanna Make Love?" originated during a bar conversation with a friend concerning the prevailing promiscuous climate. Notwithstanding the title and the setting of its inception, the song does not address one-night stands, as clarified by its chorus: "Do you wanna make love or just fool around/You can take it seriously/Or take it somewhere else." Perhaps 500,000 purchasers acquired the record for its suggestive title while another 500,000 responded to McCann's intended romantic emphasis. In any event, assembly of the track occurred rapidly; McCann completed the basic sketch in a single afternoon. His publisher, ABC/Dunhill Music, produced the single, which entered the charts just two weeks after release. 20th Century Records rushed out a self-titled album to exploit the momentum, featuring McCann's own recording of "Right Time of the Night," which had preceded both the hit single and Warnes' version.

Once Warnes' cover gained traction and it became evident that 20th Century Records was losing the cover battle—radio outlets rarely airing duplicate interpretations—the label curtailed its marketing and promotional support for McCann's rendition. Although McCann expressed irritation at the company's inaction regarding his version, the songwriter royalties generated by Warnes' Top Ten hit offered partial compensation. He sustained his momentum with the February 1979 CBS Records album One on One, produced by his songwriting mentor and manager Yoergler. McCann continues to compose and participate in Writer's Night seminars.