Easy Lover

"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. 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.

"Easy Lover"
Front cover of North American 12-inch vinyl single
Single by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
from the album Chinese Wall
B-side"Woman"
Released
  • 20 November 1984 (US)
  • 25 February 1985 (UK)
Recorded1984
Genre
Length5:02
LabelColumbia/CBS
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Phil Collins
Philip Bailey singles chronology
"Photogenic Memory"
(1984)		 "Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "Walking on the Chinese Wall"
(1984)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
(1984)		 "Easy Lover"
(1984)		 "One More Night"
(1984)
Alternative cover
Front cover of UK 7-inch vinyl single

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.[1] The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold,[2] as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to one million units until 1989.[3] In addition, "Easy Lover" has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 400,000 in the UK[4] and platinum in Canada by Music Canada.[5]

"Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy Award nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.[6][7]

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."[8] According to the Official Sheet Music, the Song is in the key of F Minor and has a Tempo of 105 BPM.[9]

Music video

The song's music video, filmed in London, England, humorously depicts the making of a music video. It was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich.

Chart performance

Weekly charts
Chart (1984–86) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 74
Austrian Singles Chart 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 4
Canada (The Record)[12] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 5
French Singles Chart 14
German Singles Chart 5
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 1
Italy (FIMI)[17] 18
Oricon Japanese Weekly Singles Chart 19
Oricon Japanese International Chart 1
New Zealand Top 50 [18] 2
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[19] 6
Spain (AFYVE)[20] 11
Swedish Singles Chart 10
Swiss Singles Chart 8
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21] 2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 15
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks 5
U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles 3
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[22] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1985) Rank
Canada[23] 4
New Zealand[24] 42
UK[25] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 12
US Cash Box[27] 7
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[2] Gold 1,000,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Gold 500,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[5] Platinum 100,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

"Easy Lover" was used as the theme song for the first WrestleMania event in 1985.[28]

In 2006, "Easy Lover" appeared in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The song can be heard on a fictional pop/rock/New Wave radio station called Flash FM.[29]

Electric Six covered "Easy Lover" on their 2015 cover album Mimicry and Memories.[30]

Great Good Fine Ok and Panama Wedding collaborated on a cover of "Easy Lover" released as a single in late 2015. [31]

gollark: Observe my evil way to write x² (I think):
gollark: Not exponential ones necessarily, though.
gollark: Technically, you can generate equations for any finite set of data points.
gollark: I had a Minecraft orbital laser network, but targeting was a bit of a mess and that server is dead now.
gollark: Now, how should <@!509849474647064576> orbital laser capability work?

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 447. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. "Philip Bailey: Chinese Wall". riaa.com. RIAA.
  3. "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. "Phil Collins & Philip Bailey: Easy Lover". bpi.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry.
  5. "Philip Bailey: Easy Lover". musiccanada.com. Music Canada.
  6. "MTV Video Music Awards History: Best Overall Performance". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  8. Greene, Andy (29 February 2016). "Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  9. "Phil Collins "Easy Lover" Sheet Music in F Minor". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  10. 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.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Philip Bailey with Phil Collins – Easy Lover" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  12. Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ontario: Music Data Canada.
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Philip Bailey with Phil Collins – Easy Lover" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  15. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Easy Lover". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  17. "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: C". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  18. "Single Top 40 - 24/03/1985". Charts.nz. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  19. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  20. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  21. [Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002]
  22. "Cash Box Top 100 2/09/85". Cash Box. 9 February 1985. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  23. "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". Top Singles. RPM. Vol. 43 no. 16. 28 December 1985. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  24. "Top Selling Singles of 1985". The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  25. "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 24.
  26. "Top 100 Hits of 1985/Top 100 Songs of 1985". Music Outfitters. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  27. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1985". Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  28. Henne, B. G. (31 March 2016). "Wrestlemania turns 31 today, brother". AV Club. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  29. Games, Rockstar (26 October 2006). "The Music of GTA: Vice City Stories - IGN". Uk.ign.com. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  30. "Final track listing for Mimicry and Memories". Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  31. "Panama Wedding & Great Good Fine OK Cover '80s Classic "Easy Lover"". Retrieved 20 November 2015.
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