Lovin' You
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| "Lovin' You" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "The Edge Of A Dream" |
"Lovin' You" is a 1975 hit single by Minnie Riperton. The song became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 5, 1975, #2 in the UK, and #3 on the R&B charts in the US. The song is especially noteworthy due to the unusually high pitches that Riperton reaches during the song. It's also noteworthy for the sound of the chirping songbirds that are heard throughout the song, which Riperton phonates by use of the Whistle Register.
Setting
It was the fourth single from the album Perfect Angel (1974). The song is notable for Riperton's use of the whistle register. While it is believed that "Lovin' You" was the first song to reach number one without the help of a percussion instrument, Jim Croce did so with "Time In A Bottle" in 1973 and "Yesterday" by The Beatles accomplished this feat ten years earlier.
According to the liner notes from Riperton's compilation CD Petals, the melody for "Lovin' You" was created as a distraction for her daughter (Maya Rudolph) when she was a baby so that Minnie and her husband Richard could hang out. Maya was in the studio with her mother on the day the song was recorded and Riperton can be heard singing her daughter's name at the end of the song, but only in the unedited or album version of the song. The song fades out early in the single edit, because the disc jockeys felt that the repeated "MAYA" was being overdone and too misunderstood, thinking that it was a "Mayan Chant".
Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 3 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 2 |
Cover versions
The song has been covered several times, notably by R&B singer Shanice who sang it twice, first time in 1991 for her album Inner Child and then again in 2006 for her comeback album Every Woman Dreams. Leona Lewis also recorded a version with producer Marley J Wills, at the age of 15. Reggae and Ska pioneer Alton Ellis covered the song for his LP Mr Ska Bean'a. Another reggae singer, Janet Kay also covered the song. In 1980 Polish singer Ewa Kuklińska released a cover version with Polish lyrics entitled "Wino z win (Wine from our faults)" which became a notable hit for her. In 1998 a trance and 5 others dance versions were released by UBM with the brazilian singer Andrea Rincon.
The song has also appeared in several movies and TV-shows, such as South Park, Will & Grace, Disturbia, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, Generation Kill, American Idol, The Nutty Professor (performed by Eddie Murphy while trying to show off to an offensive comic played by Dave Chappelle), Vegas Vacation (Wayne Newton covers the song during a Wayne Newton show at the MGM Grand), as well as a commercial for Visa featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers, where the song is supposed to be Who Let the Dogs Out? by the Baha Men. Singer Chante Moore performs the song during William's and Yvonne's ill-fated wedding on an episode of Girlfriends.
The song is also used in a sketch featuring a man spanking a woman with a spacehopper, in the Chris Morris comedy show Blue Jam. On an episode of The Steve Harvey Show, Romeo's father serenades his mother with his version of "Lovin' You" to woo her back (she had left him and moved in with Romeo and Steve). Additionally, it was used in a Burger King commercial promoting Cini-Minis. The song was also sampled heavily by Dubstep artist Coki in a track entitled "Ruff Lovin'". This song is also featured on Justin Lo's debut Cantonese album Justin in 2005. In 2007 the Japanese rock band Electric Eel Shock covered the song on their album Transworld Ultra Rock. This song was also sung by Jane Zhang during her participation in Super Girls. It was also used in the movie Megamind, "Seven Pounds" and "Disturbia (film)".
The Orb's single "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld", also known as "Loving You", was based around a sample of the Riperton original.
A fast eurodance remix, titled "Complete Loving", was recorded by the DJ group Sound Assassins for the 1999 Dancemania compilation Speed 2. Jazz saxophonists Roland Kirk and Lou Donaldson also covered the song. Dianne Reeves covered the song in her album "When you know" (2008).
Shanice version
| "Lovin' You" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Shanice's cover of the song was released in the summer of 1992 months after the success of her hit single "I Love Your Smile." It only achieved minor success on the R&B chart peaking at #59, and also peaked at #54 on the UK charts. The music video for the song is set on a beach. In 2005, she recorded another cover of the song for her 2006 album Every Woman Dreams.
Track listing
- Single Version
- I Love Your Smile (Driza Bone Single Remix)
- I Love Your Smile (Driza Bone Club Remix)
- Instrumental
Charts
| Chart (1992) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 59 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay | 67 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single Sales | 40 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 54 |
Personnel
- Drums and programming by Narada Michael Walden
- Keyboards and programming by Louis Biancaniello
- Produced by Stevie Wonder under the pseudonym "El Toro Negro" ("the Black Bull").
Samplings
- Shifty Shellshock (formerly of Crazy Town) used long excerpts from the song for sampling in his track "Ez Cuz You're Beautiful" from his 2004 solo album Happy Love Sick.[1]