If You Asked Me To

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“If You Asked Me To”
Single by Patti LaBelle
from the album Be Yourself
Released June 12, 1989
Format CD single, cassette single, 7" vinyl single
Genre R&B/soul/pop
Length 3:58
Label MCA
Writer(s) Diane Warren
Producer Diane Warren
Patti LaBelle singles chronology
"Just the Facts"
(1987)		 "If You Asked Me To"
(1989)		 "Yo Mister"
(1989)
“If You Asked Me To”
“If You Asked Me To” cover
Single by Céline Dion
from the album Celine Dion
Released April 6, 1992
Format CD single, cassette single, vinyl single
Recorded Criterion Studios, Village Recorders, Music Grinder, Oceanway Studios
Genre Pop
Length 3:55 (Album/Single Version)
Label Columbia, Epic
Writer(s) Diane Warren
Producer Guy Roche
Céline Dion singles chronology
"Je danse dans ma tête"
(1992)		 "If You Asked Me To"
(1992)		 "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime"
(1992)
Alternate covers
Alternate covers
UK single
UK single

"If You Asked Me To" is the title of a song originally written and released as the lead off single for Patti LaBelle's seventh solo studio album, entitled Be Yourself, and for the Licence to Kill soundtrack. The song is a ballad written by critically-acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren. The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who pleads to her significant other:

"If you asked me to
I just might change my mind
And let you in my heart forever."

"If You Asked Me To" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1989 James Bond movie, Licence to Kill. The song was later re-recorded by Céline Dion for her eponymous album. LaBelle's version peaked at # 79 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and at #10 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart.

The music video was filmed shortly after LaBelle's sister's death, and the context of the song changed dramatically, as a mourning LaBelle, dressed in black, sings the song in a church (with candles and mourning lilies), intercut with shots of her in tears.

Despite of its original R&B Top 10 success, the song did not become a proper "pop" hit until Céline Dion covered it three years later (Dion's single is listed below). Regarding the subject, LaBelle once explained during an interview used for the liner notes of her 1999 Greatest Hits album what she believed to be the reason for this fact: "I knew the song was a hit when I recorded it, and I was happy that Celine did it and did so well with it. But the arrangements are so close and we both have pretty powerful voices...so who knows why my version didn't take off. Maybe it was timing..."[1]

The song was included on Patti LaBelle's aforementioned 1995 Greatest Hits album and a live version was recorded for her 1998 Grammy-winning album Live! One Night Only.

Contents

[edit] Céline Dion version

Céline Dion covered "If You Asked Me To" and released it as the second single from her eponymous album. It was produced by Walter Afanasieff and was released on April 6, 1992 in the United States, and later the same year in the rest of the world.

The B-side of this single contains an unreleased track called "Love You Blind," which was written by Jay Oliver and Sheryl Crow, and produced by Walter Afanasieff.

The music video for the song was directed by Dominic Orlando and filmed in Chatsworth and Hollywood. It was released in April 1992 and included later on Dion's 2001 DVD video collection All the Way… A Decade of Song & Video.

Dion in the "If You Asked Me To" music video (1992).
Dion in the "If You Asked Me To" music video (1992).

The song was a hit in the United States and Canada. "If You Asked Me To" reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (#3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and #11 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales) and did even better on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks, peaking at #1 and spending three weeks at the top position. In Canada, it reached #3 on the singles sales chart and #1 on the radio chart. The single had a moderate success elsewhere. "If You Asked Me To" was released twice in the United Kingdom: first, in June 1992, when it peaked at #60, and the second time in December 1992, when it reached #57. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the single sold 413,000 copies in the U.S.

"If You Asked Me To" was included also on Céline Dion's CD compilation All the Way… A Decade of Song (1999).

[edit] Formats and track listings

2-track CD-single

  1. "If You Asked Me To" – 3:55
  2. "Love You Blind" – 4:35

2-track CD-single - (U.S.)

  1. "If You Asked Me To" – 3:55
  2. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" – 4:33

3-track CD-single - (AU, EU)

  1. "If You Asked Me To" – 3:55
  2. "Love You Blind" – 4:35
  3. "Halfway to Heaven" – 5:05

3-track CD-single - (UK)

  1. "If You Asked Me To" – 3:55
  2. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" – 4:33
  3. "Love You Blind" – 4:35

[edit] Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
Position
Australian Singles Chart 52
Canadian Singles Chart 3
Canadian Contemporary Hit Radio Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 Chart 27
Dutch Mega Single Top 100 Chart 28
Dutch Mega Top 50 Chart 31
New Zealand Singles Chart 26
Polish Radio 3 Chart 18
UK Singles Chart 57
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 3

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patti LaBelle Biography
v • d • e
Céline Dion
Languages