"If She Knew What She Wants" | ||||
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Promotional single by Jules Shear | ||||
from the album The Eternal Return | ||||
B-side | "Chain Within Chain" | |||
Released | June 1985 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:44 | |||
Label | Capital | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jules Shear | |||
Producer(s) |
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Jules Shear singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"If She Knew What She Wants" on YouTube |
"If She Knew What She Wants" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear and introduced on his 1985 album The Eternal Return. The Bangles recorded the song for their 1986 album Different Light . That version, a call-and-response rendition with Susanna Hoffs as the main voice, [1] was issued as a single and became a Top 40 hit. A mid-tempo ballad, it is sung from the viewpoint of someone, per songwriter Shear, "who wants to satisfy someone else but doesn't quite know how to do it because the other person is capricious." [2] The song, especially The Bangles' version, is typically described with such adjectives as "bittersweet", "plaintive" and "wistful". [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
"If She Knew What She Wants" was released on February 8, 1985 on Jules Shear's second solo album, The Eternal Return, to critical acclaim. [9] [10] [11] [12] John Piekarski of The Atlanta Constitution lauded the song's "melody [as] dreamy and vivacious yet mellow enough [for] adult contemporary radio [airplay]." [13] An album review by High Fidelity assessed Shear's love songs as "astute [being] equal parts compassion, affectionate wit, and armchair psychoanalysis", exemplified by the lyric "If she knew what she wants I'd be giving it to her" which "condenses a self-help manual for the mates of neurotics into a single piercing line." [14] Shear himself would say that he typically imparted his songs with "some little twist that makes [them] rise above" standard pop music fare, and "It doesn't really have to be too complicated to be a little bit different." [2]
Although passed over as lead single on The Eternal Return in favor of the Cyndi Lauper co-written "Steady" (whose Hot 100 peak was no. 57), "If She Knew What She Wants" was tagged as the potential followup with EMI, who sent promo copies to radio stations in June 1985. When no significant airplay resulted, EMI canceled both the single's commercial release and a tour by Shear to support his album. [15] [16] Shear's original version was co-produced by Shear and Bill Drescher, not to be confused with the baseball player of the same name.
"If She Knew What She Wants" | ||||
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![]() Picture sleeve of US and Australian vinyl singles | ||||
Single by The Bangles | ||||
from the album Different Light | ||||
B-side |
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Released | April 14, 1986 [17] | |||
Recorded | 1985 | |||
Studio | Sunset Sound Factory | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:49 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jules Shear | |||
Producer(s) | David Kahne | |||
The Bangles singles chronology | ||||
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The Bangles UK / Irelandsingles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"If She Knew What She Wants" on YouTube |
The Bangles recorded "If She Knew What She Wants" for their 1986 album Different Light for which it would serve as second single. Hailed by Cashbox as an "infectious,gorgeous pop song...with classic pop dimensions,including a can't-stop-singing-it chorus", [18] "If She Knew What She Wants" would cause Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times to opine that "on...'If She Knew What She Wants' the Bangles' voices blend with the kind of seductive charm that you swore disappeared the day The Mamas &the Papas called it quits," [19] while News Journal (Wilmington Del) writer Peter Bothum would in 2011 recall the Bangles' "If She Knew What She Wants" as "what the Byrds would have sounded like if they were chicks." [20]
The Bangles had spent the autumn of 1984 as the opening act on the Fun Tour by Cyndi Lauper,the singer through whose patronage Jules Shear had first come to the fore,chiefly through Lauper's hit version of Shear's composition "All Through the Night". [3] [21] The Bangles themselves would subsequently assist Shear in the promotion of his The Eternal Return album. When Shear had mimed his single—the Lauper co-written "Steady"—on an American Bandstand episode broadcast on 8 June 1985,The Bangles served as faux-backup band. [22] Shear would also co-write The Bangles' track "I Got Nothing" included on the 1985 The Goonies soundtrack. [16] [14] Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post would opine that "The Bangles wisely didn't second-guess Shear's version of 'If She Knew What She Wants';their arrangement of that song... echoes his faithfully—except that they sing better." [23] Vicki Peterson of The Bangles has noted that the group did slightly change Shears' arrangement. [24] Lyrically,some first-person clauses in Shear's recording (ex. "I'm crazy for this girl") are third-person in The Bangles' version (cf. "He's crazy for this girl"). The positioning of the bridge also differs—in Shear's recording the bridge (which begins with "Some have a style") follows the verse that starts with "No sense thinking I could rehabilitate her";in The Bangles' version,the bridge comes before that verse. [25]
Similar in style to the Different Light lead single "Manic Monday", [26] [27] [28] "If She Knew What She Wants" was issued as a follow-up single in April 1986 while "Manic Monday" was still cresting (its Hot 100 peak was no. 2). "If She Knew What She Wants" debuted at no. 80 on the Hot 100 dated 10 May 1986,which ranked "Manic Monday" at no. 18. "If She Knew What She Wants" would begin to lose momentum after reaching no. 50 in its third charting week,stalling at no. 29 on the Hot 100 dated 12 July 1986 in the final week of a five-week Top 40 tenure. "If She Knew What She Wants" would spend a total of ten weeks on the Hot 100. [29]
"If She Knew What She Wants" peaked at no. 31 on the UK Singles,which had afforded "Manic Monday" a no. 2 peak. [30] "If She Knew What She Wants" also became a moderate chart success in Australia at no. 31 on the Kent Music Report,and in Canada where it peaked in its 10th week on the RPM 100 Singles chart at no. 29 on 26 July 1986. [31]
A third single release from Different Light—the novelty number "Walk Like an Egyptian"—would solidify The Bangles' popularity as Top 40 hit artists.
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [32] | 31 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [33] | 30 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [34] | 20 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [35] | 29 |
Ireland (IRMA) [36] | 23 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [37] | 39 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [38] | 20 |
UK Singles (OCC) [39] | 31 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [40] | 24 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [41] | 29 |
US Cash Box [42] | 28 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [43] | 17 |
The Bangles shot a promotional video for "If She Knew What She Wants" while on tour in the UK the first week of March 1986, and it was this video that aired in the British Isles and Europe. Upon returning the US, the band shot an alternate video for the song's American promotion, produced by Tamar Simon Hoffs, mother of the track's main vocalist Susanna Hoffs, and directed by Dan Perri.
The Bangles version of "If She Knew What She Wants" is featured in the 2006 Tim Allen and Courteney Cox superhero comedy Zoom .
The Bangles are an American all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), "Manic Monday" (1986), "Hazy Shade of Winter" (1987), "In Your Room" (1988), and "Eternal Flame" (1989).
"She Bop" is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the song is her third most commercially successful single after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time", and also reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. "She Bop" was Lauper's third consecutive top 5 on the Hot 100. She recorded a quieter version of the song for her 2005 album The Body Acoustic.
She's So Unusual is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on October 14, 1983, by Portrait Records. It stands out for its commercial success, achieving four top-five singles — a pioneering achievement for a debut album by a female artist. The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called She's So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration. The re-release contains demos and remixes of previously released material, as well as new artwork.
Jules Mark Shear is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single "All Through the Night", the Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and the Ignatius Jones and Allison Moyet hit "Whispering Your Name" and charted a hit as a performer with "Steady" in 1985.
Susanna Lee Hoffs is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She, Debbi Peterson, and Vicki Peterson founded the Bangles in 1981. They released their first album All Over the Place on Columbia Records in 1984. Their second album, Different Light, contained the US number two single "Manic Monday" and number one single "Walk Like an Egyptian". The group's third album, Everything (1988), included the US top-ten charting "In Your Room" and number one "Eternal Flame", both written by Hoffs with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Following tensions including resentment Hoffs's perceived leadership and the stress of touring, the band split in 1989. It reformed in 1999 and released the albums Doll Revolution (2003) and Sweetheart of the Sun (2011).
"Manic Monday" is a song by the American pop rock band the Bangles, which was the first single released from their second studio album, Different Light (1986). The song was written by American musician Prince, under the pseudonym "Christopher". Originally it was intended for the group Apollonia 6 in 1984. Lyrically, it describes a woman who is waking up to go to work on Monday, wishing it was still Sunday so that she could continue relaxing.
"Eternal Flame" is a song by American pop rock group the Bangles for their third studio album, Everything (1988). Released on January 23, 1989, the power ballad was written by group member Susanna Hoffs with the established hit songwriting team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Upon its 1989 single release, "Eternal Flame" became a number-one hit in nine countries, including Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since its release, it has been covered by many musical artists, including Australian boy band Human Nature, who reached the Australian top 10 with their version, and British girl group Atomic Kitten, who topped four national charts with their rendition.
"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). It was released as the album's second single in March 1984, by Epic and Portrait Records. Written by Lauper and Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals, the song was produced by Rick Chertoff. It was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide, referring to the 1979 film Time After Time.
"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song by the American band the Bangles. It was released in September 1986 as the third single from the band's second studio album, Different Light (1986). It was the band's first number-one single, being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was ranked Billboard's number-one song of 1987.
Different Light is the second studio album by American pop rock band the Bangles, released in January 1986. The album's Top 40 sound was a departure from their earlier 1960s-style rock'n'roll sound. It is their most successful album, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 and producing five charting singles, including the Billboard top two hits "Manic Monday" and "Walk Like an Egyptian". It is also the first album in which bassist Michael Steele sings lead vocals on some tracks.
"Change of Heart" is a song by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on November 11, 1986 as the second single from her second album, True Colors (1986). It went gold in the US, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by singer-songwriter Essra Mohawk. Popular remixes by Shep Pettibone were also released. A music video was produced for the song, filmed in Trafalgar Square in London. It features Lauper and her tour band performing the song in front of a large group of people. The Bangles sang background vocals on the original recording. A live version of the song was released on Lauper's live album/DVD, To Memphis, with Love.
"The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" is a song by American pop singer Cyndi Lauper. It was released as a single in 1985, and is from the soundtrack of the film The Goonies. It was her fifth top-10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"All Through the Night" is a song written and recorded by Jules Shear for his 1983 album Watch Dog. It was produced by Todd Rundgren.
"Walking Down Your Street" is a song by The Bangles. It is the fourth single from their 1986 album Different Light. After its single release in 1987, the song charted at #9 on the Cash Box Top 100, #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #16 on the UK Singles Chart, #26 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles and #56 on the Australian Kent Music Report chart. "Walking Down Your Street" was the final single from Different Light in the US; the album's next single, "Following", was only released in the UK.
Belinda is the debut studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on May 19, 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Carlisle began work on the album in 1985 following the breakup of the Go-Go's, for whom she was the lead singer. The album was supported by four singles, with lead single "Mad About You" peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.
"In Your Room" is a 1988 song by American rock group The Bangles, written by Susanna Hoffs in collaboration with Billy Steinberg and composer Tom Kelly. The song was released as the first single from the band's third album, Everything. It reached the top five of the US singles chart, and also charted in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
"Whispering Your Name" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear. It was originally performed by Ignatius Jones in 1983, however Shear also recorded the song, which was issued as a single within months of Jones' recording and included on his 1983 album Watch Dog. It has been covered numerous times, including a charting version by Alison Moyet in 1994.
"Going Down to Liverpool" is a song written by Kimberley Rew for his group Katrina and the Waves, although best remembered for a cover version by the Bangles.
Jules Shear is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His discography consists of 12 studio albums, 2 compilations, 2 EPs, and 8 singles. In addition to his work with Funky Kings, Jules and the Polar Bears, Reckless Sleepers, and Shear Shazar, his compositions have been recorded by many other artists.
Watch Dog is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear, released by EMI America in 1983 and produced by Todd Rundgren.