It’s February and that means it’s time for L-O-V-E. Yes, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner: time for sweet cards, sweet candy and, of course, special time with your sweetheart. But if you’re expecting to sweeten the mood with love songs, don’t bother turning on the radio. Instead of finding heartfelt romance, you’ll probably be heartbroken to find the airwaves polluted with crass sex songs.

So for the lover in all of you, here is a list of some of my all-time favorite real love songs by real artists, old-school masters whose music remains as tender and loving today as it was back when it was first recorded. Listen to these beautiful tunes and you’ll know exactly what real love is and why it’s an essential ingredient for any lasting relationship. Valentine’s Day comes but once a year, but as long as special love songs like these are around, romance can live in our hearts forever.

This is the most perfect love song I’ve ever heard. Its sweet and dreamy melody quietly takes your breath away. While this song has been covered by many artists from Ella Fitzgerald to Art Garfunkel to Zapp & Roger, its most notable version is sung by the 1950s doo-wop group The Flamingos. Beginning with the lyric “My love must be a kind of blind love/ I can’t see anyone but you,” this song paints a detailed picture of enchanted love that immediately captures your attention and your heart.

This is one of my absolute favorites by Sade. From her multi-platinum album Love Deluxe, this gem of a tune is so tranquil and soothing, it sounds like paradise. While listening, you can easily picture yourself on a sandy beach in the tropics with your soul mate by your side. When Sade croons “’Cos darling I’m on your side/ I really am on your side,” you can sense the depth of her sincerity in her simple words. “I Couldn’t Love You More” is an incredible tune with an incredible message of love and devotion: No matter what the obstacle, true love will find a way to prevail.

While this love song might not make you swoon, “I Was Made to Love Her” will still claim your heart with its declaration of undying love from first note to last. Stevie Wonder recalls a lifelong romance that began during childhood and continued to flourish through the years as he and his sweetheart grew older. When he sings “Oh, if the mountain tumbles/ If this whole world crumbles/ By her side I’ll still be standing there/ ’Cause I was made to love her/ I was made to live for her,” you can’t help but believe him. Who doesn’t need someone to love them like that?

I love this song because of the simple way Billy Joel sings it. He’s so honest and introspective, so in awe of his lover that he can’t even understand the intensity of his feelings himself. Listening to him sing “She’s got a way about her/ I don’t know what it is/ But I know that I can’t live without her/ Anyway,” you hear his complete wonderment at the magnetic hold that she has over him. Joel alludes to the fact that while his girl could’ve been with anyone in the world, he’s amazed that she picked him. How sweet it is to truly love and be loved by the one you’re with. | Retannical D. Russell