| "Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Gap Band | ||||
| from the album The Gap Band III | ||||
| A-side | "Yearning for Your Love" | |||
| B-side | "Nothing Comes to Sleepers" "Baby Baba Boogie" "Humpin'" |
|||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 5:33 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Writer(s) | Charlie Wilson, Lonnie Simmons, Rudy Taylor | |||
| The Gap Band singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" is a song originally performed by The Gap Band and written by member Charlie Wilson and producer Lonnie Simmons. In 1981, it peaked at number eighty-four on the Hot 100 but it was a number one hit on the R&B charts.[1] Billboard magazine ranked it as the 12th biggest R&B single of 1981.
The song's lyrics refer to abandonment by an unspecified lover. The phrase "Burn Rubber on Me" itself refers to said woman driving off while her lover is away.[2] The narrative is continued in "Early in the Morning".
A later single released, featuring "Humpin'" on the B-side, scored a #19 appearance on the dance charts.[3]
Pop singer George Michael sampled the song for his 1997 single "Star People '97"
All releases are in the U.S. unless indicated:
All the releases can be checked at Discogs[4]
| Preceded by "Fantastic Voyage" by Lakeside |
Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number one single February 14 - February 21, 1981 |
Succeeded by "Don't Stop the Music" by Yarbrough and Peoples |