He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined… Read Full Bio ↴He attended a school for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas where he joined the school choir. He won an amateur talent contest in Memphis, Tennessee and at first worked with local bands, as well as starting a band of his own. In 1942 he joined a band led by Jay McShann, and the next year he joined Duke Ellington's band, replacing Herb Jeffries. He worked eight years with Ellington before becoming a soloist. Some of his singing is classified as rhythm and blues, but he is really best classified as a bridge between R&B and traditional pop music.

His biggest hit was "Unchained Melody" in 1955. Other hits were "He", "11th Hour Melody", "Never Turn Back", and "After the Lights Go Low" (all in 1956). "After the Lights Go Low", sung with a put-on British accent, was his last charted hit.

In the late 1950s and 1960s, Hibbler became a civil rights activist, marching with protestors and getting arrested in 1959 in New Jersey and in 1963 in Alabama. The notoriety of this activism discouraged major record labels from carrying his work, but Frank Sinatra supported him and signed him to a contract with his label, [lable]Reprise Records.

However, Hibbler made very few recordings after that, occasionally doing live appearances through the 1990s. He died in April 2001 in Chicago.

There Is No Greater Love
Al Hibbler Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There is no greater love
Than what I feel for you
No greater love,
No heart so true

There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song

Than what you sing to me

You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known
And to think that
You are mine alone.

There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you

You're the sweetest thing
I have ever known,
And to think that
You are mine alone.

There is no greater love
In all the world, it's true

No greater love
Than what I feel for you

Overall Meaning

The song "There Is No Greater Love" by Al Hibbler is a classic love ballad. The lyrics tell about the intense love the singer has for someone special. The opening line, "There is no greater love than what I feel for you," sets the tone and theme of the song. The singer believes that the love they share is the greatest in the world and no one else could ever understand the depth of his emotion.

The second verse emphasizes the joy and excitement this person brings to the singer's life. The imagery of a sweet melody and the thrill of being with someone special is used to describe the feeling. The third verse emphasizes the uniqueness and exclusivity of their love. The singer says that this person is the sweetest thing they have ever known and they are grateful that they belong solely to them.

The repeated chorus phrase, "No greater love than what I feel for you," emphasizes how intense the singer's love is, and how it cannot be matched by any other love in the world. The song's melody and Al Hibbler's voice convey the message beautifully, and it has become a classic love song over the years.

Line by Line Meaning

There is no greater love
I cannot imagine a love that surpasses the love I feel for you

Than what I feel for you
My love for you is unmatched

No greater love,
There is simply no love greater than ours

No heart so true
No other person's love is as genuine and sincere as yours

There is no greater thrill
Nothing excites me more than being with you

Than what you bring to me
The happiness you bring into my life is immeasurable

No sweeter song
Your voice is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard

Than what you sing to me
The love and affection you express to me are the sweetest melodies I've ever heard

You're the sweetest thing
You are the most lovely and endearing person I have ever met

I have ever known
I have met many people, but none compare to you

And to think that
It's amazing to imagine