Easy Lover
| "Easy Lover" | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||||||||
| Single by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins | ||||||||||||||||
| from the album Chinese Wall | ||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Woman" | |||||||||||||||
| Released |
November 1984 (US), February 1985 (UK)[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | |||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||||||||||||||
| Length |
4:50 (Single Edit) 5:02 (Album Version) 6:18 (Extended Version) | |||||||||||||||
| Label | Columbia/CBS | |||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Philip Bailey, Phil Collins and Nathan East | |||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Phil Collins | |||||||||||||||
| Philip Bailey singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
"Easy Lover" is a hit song performed by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins, and written by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East. The song appeared on Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts and it appears on his 1990 album Serious Hits... Live!, as well as his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits.
The song was a hit in several countries worldwide. In the US it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 kept out of the top spot for two weeks by I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner, and in the UK it reached #1, staying there for four weeks. The single sold over a million copies in the United States and has only been certified Gold—not Platinum—since the RIAA requirement for a Platinum single wasn't lowered to 1,000,000 units until 1989. In addition Easy Lover has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 400,000 in the UK and platinum in Canada by Music Canada.[2][3][4][5]
"Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.[6][7]
The lighthearted video for the song was filmed in London, England and is essentially a music video about the making of a music video.
Chart performance
| Chart (1984-1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Canada (The Record) | 1[8] |
| Dutch Top 40 | 1[9] |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 5 |
| French Singles Chart | 14 |
| German Singles Chart | 5 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italy (FIMI)[11] | 18 |
| Oricon Japanese Weekly Singles Chart | 19 |
| Oricon Japanese International Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 3 |
Personnel
- Philip Bailey - vocals
- Phil Collins - vocals, drums
- Daryl Stuermer - guitars
- Nathan East - bass
- Lesette Wilson - keyboards
Cultural references
The song was used as a theme song to the inaugural WrestleMania in 1985. The song also featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories as part of its soundtrack in the fictional pop radio station, Flash FM. The song was also used in the TV advertisements for the game in the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1994 it was sampled by Chris Morris for "Uzi Lover", a parody of gangsta rap (with Morris portraying its fictitious performer "Fur-Q") in an episode of The Day Today. The song was also covered by R&B/Gospel singer, Cheryl Gamble of SWV in 2001. The Double Dragon video game franchise has been known for featuring an instrumental track called "Low Pursuit" which the original composer, having been inspired by "Easy Lover", first featured in Double Dragon II: The Revenge in the Mission I stage of the original arcade version and the Mission II stage of the NES version.
References
- ↑ Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 251. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
- ↑ RIAA Certification for Easy Lover
- ↑ "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ↑ British Phonographic Industry certification for Easy Lover
- ↑ Music Canada certification for Easy Lover
- ↑ Rock On The Net: MTV Video Music Awards History: Best Overall Performance
- ↑ MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS HISTORY: BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE
- ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississsauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
- ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 4, 1985". Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: C". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
External links
- Video on VH1 Classic
| Preceded by "Careless Whisper" by Wham! |
Canadian RPM number-one single February 9, 1985 – February 16, 1985 |
Succeeded by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner |
| Preceded by "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive |
UK number one single 23 March 1985 - 13 April 1985 |
Succeeded by "We Are the World" by USA for Africa |
| Preceded by "Like a Virgin" by Madonna |
Japanese Oricon International Singles Chart number one single 4 March 1985 – 11 March 1985 |
Succeeded by "The NeverEnding Story" by Limahl |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
