Easy Lover

"Easy Lover"
Front cover of US 12-inch vinyl single
Single by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
from the album Chinese Wall
B-side "Woman"
Released November 1984 (US),
25 February 1985 (UK)[1]
Format 7", 12"
Recorded 1984
Genre Pop rock, hard rock, dance-rock
Length 5:02
Label Columbia/CBS
Songwriter(s) Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Philip Gale, Nathan East
Producer(s) Phil Collins
Philip Bailey singles chronology
"Photogenic Memory"
(1984)		 "Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "(Walkin' On The) Chinese Wall"
(1984)

"Photogenic Memory"
(1984)		 "Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "(Walkin' On The) Chinese Wall"
(1984)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
(1984) Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)1984		 "Easy Lover"
(1984) Easy Lover1984		 "One More Night"
(1984) One More Night1984
Alternative cover
Front cover of UK 7-inch vinyl single

"Easy Lover" is a song performed by Philip Bailey, of Earth, Wind & Fire, and Phil Collins of Genesis and jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East (BMI adds Stacey Dove Daniels, Danny Ray Nixon & Olivia Pamela Roshell as co-owners of the rights). The song appeared on Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts and it appears on both his 1990 album Serious Hits... Live! and his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits.

The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries worldwide, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S. it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 2 February 1985, kept out of the top spot by "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks.[2] The single was certified gold in the UK.[1] The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold, as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to 1 million 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.[3][4][5][6]

The single did not receive a local release in Australia due to a dispute between Bailey's record company, CBS, and Collins' record company, WEA. As a result, it was only available through imports from New Zealand, which is the reason for its poor showing on the Australian charts.

"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.[7][8]

The song's music video, filmed in London, England, humorously depicts the making of a music video.

Electric Six covered the song on their 2015 cover album Mimicry and Memories.[9]

"Easy Lover" was used as the theme song for the first WrestleMania event in 1985.

Background

In 1984, Phil Collins was hired as the producer for Philip Bailey's solo album Chinese Wall. According to Collins, Bailey approached him at the end of the sessions for the album and asked him to write a song together. In "Phil Collins: My Life In 15 Songs," a 2016 interview he gave to Rolling Stone Magazine, Collins said of the song: "So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn't forget it. That song doesn't sound like any particular era. It's just fantastic."[10] According to the Official Sheet Music, the Song is in the key of F Minor and has a Tempo of 105 BPM.[11]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1984–86) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 74
Austrian Singles Chart 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 4
Canada (The Record)[14] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 5
French Singles Chart 14
German Singles Chart 5
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 1
Italy (FIMI)[19] 18
Oricon Japanese Weekly Singles Chart 19
Oricon Japanese International Chart 1
New Zealand Top 50 [20] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[21] 6
Spain (AFYVE)[22] 11
Swedish Singles Chart 10
Swiss Singles Chart 8
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[23] 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
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [24] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Rank
Canada [25] 4
New Zealand [26] 42
UK [27] 12
US Billboard Hot 100 [28] 12
US Cash Box [29] 7

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Phil Collins (page 3)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 447. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - March 29, 2014". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2014-05-10. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  5. ↑ Archived January 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Music Canada : Gold Platinum Database". Musiccanada.com. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  7. ↑ "MTV Video Music Awards History: Best Overall Performance". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  8. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  9. ↑ "Final track listing for Mimicry and Memories". Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone.
  11. ↑ "Phil Collins "Easy Lover" Sheet Music in F Minor". Musicnotes.com.
  12. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 71. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Philip Bailey with Phil Collins – Easy Lover" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Philip Bailey with Phil Collins – Easy Lover" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  17. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  18. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Easy Lover". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: C". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  20. ↑ http://charts.org.nz/weekchart.asp?cat=s&year=1985&date=19850324
  21. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  22. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ↑ [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  24. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/19850209.html
  25. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0619&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=hfqghgi7qo83i9lhvl8q3orfj0
  26. ↑ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3874
  27. ↑ "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 24.
  28. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1985/Top 100 Songs of 1985". www.musicoutfitters.com.
  29. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
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