| "Make Me Lose Control" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Eric Carmen | |
| Released | May 1988 |
| Format | 7" (45 rpm) |
| Genre | Adult contemporary |
| Label | Arista |
| Writer(s) | Eric Carmen, Dean Pitchford |
| Producer | Jimmy Ienner |
"Make Me Lose Control" is the title of a 1988 Billboard Hot 100 #3 hit single (see 1988 in music) written and performed by the singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. It was co-written by Dean Pitchford.
Released a few months after the success of "Hungry Eyes," Carmen's song from the film Dirty Dancing which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Make Me Lose Control" also reached the Top 5 on the Hot 100, topping out at #3.[1] On the Sales chart, the song spent a week at #1; on the Airplay chart, it made #4. The song spent 13 weeks in the Top 40. In addition, "Make Me Lose Control" spent three weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart, the singer's second song to do so (following "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" from 1976).[2]
Carmen stated in the liner notes to a compilation album that "Make Me Lose Control" was an "odd record because it was all by itself. The song wasn't part of an album, but it was an interesting experience to jump back into the studio with Jimmy Ienner after ten years."[2] Ienner is the producer of this and other songs recorded by Carmen.
"Make Me Lose Control" did not originally appear on any of Carmen's studio albums; the song would later surface on various "greatest hits" releases. In keeping with its nostalgic feel, richness of harmony and underlying yearning for the "sweet songs" of the 50's and 60's, it features prominent backing vocals by The Beach Boys and references four other songs from that era: "Uptown" (whether the song indicates the song recorded by Roy Orbison or the one recorded by the Crystals is unclear), "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes and "Back in My Arms Again" by the Supremes. Of the seven times Carmen's compositions have reached the Top 10, it is the only song that has been released by no other artist besides him.
It was featured in the Showtime TV series Dexter in a season one episode called "Shink Wrap" (1x08), being enthusiastically sung into a police trophy by Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), while she danced in her bra in front of a mirror.
The music video features Kid Leo, a radio personality who got his start in Cleveland, Carmen's hometown. The video references the film "American Graffiti" by re-creating the scene in which the blonde in the white T-Bird (Suzanne Somers) tells Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) "I love you" and his near-misses with her thereafter. In the video, a mysterious young blonde pull up beside Carmen's car and tells him "I love you". Like Dreyfuss' character, Carmen will only see a T-Bird in passing for the remainder of the video.
Album title: The Best of Eric Carmen [Arista] Year: 1988 Track listing:
| Preceded by "Make It Real" by The Jets |
Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single July 16, 1988 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood |