When Will I See You Again
| "When Will I See You Again" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Three Degrees | ||||
| from the album The Three Degrees | ||||
| A-side | "When Will I See You Again?" | |||
| B-side | "I Didn't Know" | |||
| Released | September 27, 1974 (US) | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Philadelphia International Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Gamble and Huff | |||
| Producer(s) | Gamble and Huff | |||
| The Three Degrees singles chronology | ||||
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"When Will I See You Again" is a song by American soul group The Three Degrees, from their third album The Three Degrees. The song was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
It was one of the most successful recordings of the "Philly Soul" era. In the U.S., the song reached number one on the adult contemporary chart, number two on the pop singles chart,[1] and number four on the R&B chart in the autumn of 1974.[2] In the UK, it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in August 1974.[3] The Three Degrees performed the song at Prince Charles' 30th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in 1978.
Sheila Ferguson recalled that "the song was played to me by Kenny Gamble at the piano in 1973 and I threw a tantrum. I screamed and yelled and said I would never sing it. I thought it was ridiculously insulting to be given such a simple song and that it took no talent to sing it. We did do it and several million copies later, I realized that he knew more than me."[4] The song is unique in that every sentence is a question, heightening the overall effect and emotion.
Chart positions
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot Black Singles | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart[3] | 1 |
Cover versions
- Three Degrees covered their own song in Japanese as Tenshi No Sasayaki later that same year and won the Tokyo version of Eurovision in 1974.
- Ami Aspelund recorded the Finnish rendering of the song: "Koska Sun Taas Nähdä Saan", on her 1976 album Yön Jälkeen.
- Magda Layna released the song as a single on Megatone Records in 1983.
- British boy band Brother Beyond covered the song on their 1989 album Trust, peaking at #43 in the UK Singles Chart.
- British ska band Bad Manners recorded the song for a demo in 1976 and it was finally released as part of their 1999 compilation Rare & Fatty.
- German singer Thomas Anders covered the song for his 1993 album of the same name.
- British singer/songwriter PJ Harvey performed the song in the Sarah Miles film Amaeru Fallout 1972.
- British synthpop duo Erasure covered it for their 2003 cover album Other People's Songs.
- Maleewan Jemina (th) recorded the song for her 2003 album Me & Moment in Time.
- Billy Bragg recorded a cover of the song on his Must I Paint You A Picture? compilation; it had previously been featured on the compilation album Ruby Trax.
- Priscilla Chan, a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer, also covered it as a popular bilingual dance song in 1988.
- Kyōko Koizumi covered the song, retitled "Tenshi no sasayaki", on her 1992 Koizumix Production's Bambinater mini-album.
- British female group The Dream Girls recorded the song in 1993.
- Sarah Siobhan Leighton performed a cover version with the Novelle High School marching band on behalf of the Siobhan Outreach music program. She later performed it again, with the Novelle marching band, at the closing ceremonies for the Cosworth Elite Eight Games.
- Magda Layna performed a disco version of the song.[5]
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 243.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 578.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 303-4. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh
- ↑ Song "When will I see you again" by Magda Layna on YouTube
External links
| Preceded by "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae |
UK number one single August 17, 1974 for two weeks |
Succeeded by "Love Me For A Reason" by The Osmonds |
| Preceded by "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single by The Three Degrees December 14, 1974 |
Succeeded by "Wishing You Were Here" by Chicago |
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