Part-Time Lover
| "Part-Time Lover" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||||||||
| from the album In Square Circle | ||||||||||
| Released | 24 August 1985 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Summer 1985 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop, R&B, soul, synthpop | |||||||||
| Length |
Album version: 4:12 7" version: 3:43 12" version: 8:20 | |||||||||
| Label | Tamla | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||||||||
| Certification | Silver (BPI) | |||||||||
| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Part-Time Lover" is a 1985 single by Stevie Wonder, from his album In Square Circle. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance, and adult contemporary charts. The song's simultaneous chart success made him the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard charts. It is Wonder's most recent Hot 100 number-one single, with the exception of his appearance on "That's What Friends Are For" which also featured Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Elton John, and was number one for 4 weeks from January to February, 1986.
"Part-Time Lover" also reached number three on the UK Singles Chart thanks in large part to a performance by Wonder on Top of the Pops in late 1985.
The song featured R&B singer Luther Vandross humming at the end of Stevie's verses and on backing vocals in addition to Wonder's ex-wife and fellow singer-songwriter Syreeta Wright and Philip Bailey of R&B/funk band Earth, Wind and Fire. Wonder earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1986, for the song. Wonder is noted in the liner notes of the 4-CD set Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection Volume 2 1972-1992 as describing the music for the song as an ode to "You Can't Hurry Love" and "My World Is Empty Without You," both by The Supremes, former Motown label mates of Wonder.
Music video
The video for "Part-Time Lover" features a black couple and the affairs that they have with their other halves. The video begins with the couple watching a film, when their phone rings. For the majority of the video, each half of the couple is seen re-enacting the lyrics of the song, such as the wife's male friend initiating her phone call to avoid suspicion. Interspersed with the narrative is footage of Wonder playing a Kurzweil keyboard in a dance club. One shot of Wonder features him inside a triangular window with a red spotlight hovering over it, a visual reference to the album In Square Circle, on which this song appears. Wonder also sings the song on the street, as the husband rendezvous with his partner. The climax of the video has the husband and his partner dancing on one side of Wonder's stage, and the wife and her partner dancing on the other side. It is implied that the husband notices his wife through the legs of Wonder's keyboard stand.
Charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] | 11 |
| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[2] | 1 |
| Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[3] | 1 |
| France (SNEP)[4] | 3 |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[5] | 12 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[6] | 1 |
| Italy (FIMI)[7] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] | 17 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[10] | 5 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[11] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 3 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 5 |
| United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[14] | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 1 |
Cover versions
- Puerto Rican salsa musician Bobby Valentin cover the song in 1986 which peaked at #23 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.[16]
Personnel
- Backing vocals - Billy Durham, Darryl Phinnessee, Keith John, Melody McCully, Peter Byrne, Philip Bailey, Renee Hardaway, Syreeta Wright
- Backing vocals, additional lead vocals - Luther Vandross[17]
See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1985
- List of number-one singles of 1985 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles in 1985 (New Zealand)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- Maneater
References
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "part time lover - stevie wonder". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
- ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 22, September 10, 1985". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". GfK Entertainment.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 29, 1985". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 1985". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Creative Commons. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
10. Part Time Lover - Stevie Wonder [#1] - ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stevie Wonder search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". VG-lista.
- ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 1985). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "ChartArchive - The Chart Archive". Chartstats.com. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1940-10-14). "Stevie Wonder | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ "Bobby Valentin: Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 27, 1986.
- ↑ "In Square Circle on". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
