This song marked Davis's second single release upon his departure from Bang Records to Arista, the first being "Cool Night".
The style of "'65 Love Affair" was reminiscent of such blue-eyed soul groups as Hall & Oates, a vein that Davis had not explored before.
However, even with the title change, the song highlighted many aspects of 1950s youth culture, including carhops, drive-ins and doo-wop.
In spite of this popular success, Davis was so disgusted with the commercialized result that he opted out of his contract with Arista and signed with Razor & Tie Record Company, a label on which Davis never charted on the Hot 100, before he left the music business for good in 1988.
The music video is composed entirely of news archives from the year 1965, including footage of then US President Lyndon Johnson, the Vietnam War, and the Watts riots.