Be My Lover (La Bouche song)

"Be My Lover"
Single by La Bouche
from the album Sweet Dreams
B-side "Do You Still Need Me"
Released March 3, 1995
Format
Recorded September 1994
Genre Eurodance
Length 3:44
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
La Bouche singles chronology
"Sweet Dreams"
(1994)		 "Be My Lover"
(1995)		 "Fallin' in Love"
(1996)
Music video
"Be My Lover" on YouTube

"Be My Lover" is a song recorded by German-American Eurodance group La Bouche. It was released in March 1995 as the second single from their album, Sweet Dreams. It is one of their biggest hits, alongside "Sweet Dreams". This song was dubbed into many megamix tracks and has had remix versions. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also topped the American dance chart for two weeks in December 1995 and hit number one in Germany, Italy and Sweden.

Background and release

American rapper Lane McCray met singer Melanie Thornton in Saarbrücken, Germany while he was on active duty in the US air force. Thornton had moved from the US to Germany, where she performed as guest vocalist on dance-pop recordings.[1]

""Be My Lover" no one liked. I kept trying to find words for the "la da da dee" part of the song. We couldn't find any words so we just left it in the song."

—Lane McCray talking to Jerry Nunn about the song.[2]

McCray had always wanted to be an entertainer and he'd performed in musicals like A Chorus Line and La bohème. Thornton and McCray went together in a band called Groovin' Affairs and were discovered by German record producer Frank Farian, the mastermind and voice behind the duo Milli Vanilli. They founded the Eurodance duo La Bouche. Lane McCray co-wrote "Be My Lover" with Melanie Thornton.

The duo started recording in the spring of 1994. Because of McCray's duty in the US air force, La Bouche's success faced one minor challenge.[3] But La Bouche went on to be one of the most popular Eurodance acts of the mid-90s. "Be My Lover" topped the American dance chart and reached the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100. It peaked at number one in Germany, Italy and Sweden. And in Australia, Iceland and Norway it peaked at number two.

"When we first started out, we were just trying to pay the bills. In the back of our minds, we hoped and remained encouraged that one day our ship would come in. Five million records later, I would say it's docked! What a blessing it has been to do work you are proud of and to find such great success with it.

—Lane McCray talking to Larry Flick about the success of the song.[4]

La Bouche won the 1996 Echo award in Germany for the Best Dance Single with "Be My Lover".[5] The song was nominated for Best Dance Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. American rapper Coolio won for his video "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)". La Bouche was also nominated in the category Best Dance at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards. English boy band East 17 won that category.

In 2000, when Melanie Thornton left the group to start with her solo career, La Bouche released a new version of "Be My Lover" with Natascha Wright vocals (who replaced Melanie Thornton as the female singer of the group).

Composition

The song is written in the key of C♯ minor and follows a tempo of 134 beats per minute. It follows a basic chord progression of C♯m–A–B, and the vocals span from G♯3 to F♯5.[6]

Music video

Two different music videos were made for this song, a European version and an American version.

La Bouche in the European music video of "Be My Lover".

The European version was filmed in the city in night and features Melanie Thornton as a dominatrix wearing a black outfit while driving a car. She enters something that looks like an abandoned building where she meets McCray. McCray are being caught in a net, tied and his mouth is sealed with duct tape. He is hung upside down and placed in Thorntons car by some women. She drives to a underground club where several men are being held captive. They are hanging upside down from hooks in the ceiling. Thornton walks around these men while she sings. Suddenly McCray manages to break free and raps toward Thornton. Occasionally, we see a crowd of people dancing in the underground club. Thornton and McCray performs in the crowd. The cut version doesn't show McCray being captured and almost all the scenes with the men being hanging upside down were cut.

The American version was filmed in a studio, featuring Thornton singing into a microphone, wearing a purple dress.

Accolades

Year Publisher Country Accolade Rank
2013 Vibe United States "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game"[7] 16
2015 Idolator United States "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1995"[8] 30
2017 BuzzFeed United States "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s"[9] 6

Usage in media

The song was played in the 1995 Brazilian soap opera A Próxima Vítima, in the 1997 movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, in the 1998 movie A Night at the Roxbury, in the 1999 movie Earthly Possessions, in an episode of the sitcom Step by Step. It was also spoofed as "One Zero 001" on a computer-themed episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy and used in Audition Online Dance Battle as a song. It can be vaguely heard in the background in the "World's Greatest Dick" episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, in the gay bar that Sally and Harry walk into at the beginning of the episode. It was played at the second episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, as Gianni (played by Édgar Ramírez) and his boyfriend Antonio (played by Ricky Martin) enter a gay bar.

Cover versions, samples and remixes

The song was covered by Hysterie in 2003.

Romanian dance pop singer Inna sampled the song for her third studio album Party Never Ends and released it as an official single in 2013.

Dutch DJ and producer Sam Feldt made a cover of this track with Alex Schulz in 2017.

Track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Be My Lover".[10]

CD maxi 1
  1. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Be My Lover" (club mix 135 BPM) – 5:28
  3. "Be My Lover" (trance mix 150 BPM) – 6:35
  4. "Do You Still Need Me" – 3:35
CD maxi – U.S.
  1. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 6:26
  2. "Be My Lover" (Spike club mix) – 8:54
  3. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:46
  4. "Be My Lover" (Alex goes to Cleveland mix) – 5:06
  5. "Be My Lover" (Doug Laurent classic mix edit) – 4:07
12" maxi – U.S., UK, Ireland
  1. "Be My Lover" (Spike club mix) – 8:54
  2. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 6:26
  3. "Be My Lover" (Spike dub) – 8:21
  4. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:46
12" maxi – Europe
  1. "Be My Lover" (club mix) – 5:28
  2. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:26
  3. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 6:35
  4. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:59
CD maxi – Remixes
  1. "Be My Lover" (euro dance mix) – 6:12
  2. "Be My Lover" (Hi-NRG mix) – 5:47
  3. "Be My Lover" (serious groove dub mix) – 5:41
  4. "Be My Lover" (Alex goes to Cleveland mix) – 5:05
  5. "Be My Lover" (Doug Laurent classic mix – edit) – 4:10
  6. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 7:12
  7. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:51
CD single / Cassette
  1. "Be My Lover" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Be My Lover" (trance mix) – 6:35 (Germany only)
  3. "Be My Lover" (house mix) – 4:49 (France only)
  4. "Be My Lover" (radio edit 2) – 3:58 (U.S. only)

Charts and sales

References

  1. ↑ "Singer Melanie Thornton paved her own path". greenvilleonline.com. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Sweet dreams: An interview with La Bouche". chicago.gopride.com. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Sweet Dreams of La Bouche". outinperth.com. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  4. ↑ "DanceTrax by Larry Flick". Billboard (December 28, 1996, page 34). Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Echo 1996 - The Winners" (PDF). Music & Media (1996-03-09, page 15). Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ Amir, Saraf, Gerd. "La Bouche "Be My Lover" Sheet Music (Leadsheet) in C# Minor - Download & Print".
  7. ↑ "Before EDM: 30 Dance Tracks From The '90s That Changed The Game". Vibe. 9 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1995 (Featuring New Interviews With Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Kylie Minogue, Monica, Ace Of Base & More!)". idolator.com. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "La Bouche — "Be My Lover"". Discogs. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Be My Lover", in various singles charts Lescharts.com Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved February 4, 2008)
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2926." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2731." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Music & Media: Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  17. ↑ "La Bouche singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.06.1995 - 24.06.1995)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  20. ↑ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 2009-06-03 at WebCite (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
  21. ↑ Hit parade Italia (Retrieved May 30, 2008)
  22. 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1995" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – La Bouche – Be My Lover" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 (09 July 1995 - 15 July 1995)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  25. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (May 7, 1994). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
  26. ↑ "LA BOUCHE - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Official UK Dance Singles Chart (09 July 1995 - 15 July 1995)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
  29. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box (1996-02-24). Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  30. ↑ "1995 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  31. ↑ 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be Archived March 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved February 11, 2008)
  32. ↑ 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be Archived April 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved February 11, 2008)
  33. ↑ "Canada Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995". Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  34. ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived February 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  35. ↑ "1995 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  36. 1 2 "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". ARIA. Archived from the original on November 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1996". Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  38. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – La Bouche – Be My Lover" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter La Bouche in the field Interpret. Enter Be My Lover in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen. 
  39. ↑ "French single certifications – La Bouche – Be My Lover" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  40. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (La Bouche; 'Be My Lover')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  41. ↑ "American single certifications – La Bouche – Be My Lover". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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