"Valerie" | ||||
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Single by Steve Winwood | ||||
from the album Talking Back to the Night | ||||
B-side | "Slowdown Sundown" | |||
Released | October 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 4:05 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Steve Winwood | |||
Steve Winwood singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Valerie" on YouTube |
"Valerie '87" | ||||
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Single by Steve Winwood | ||||
from the album Chronicles | ||||
B-side |
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Released | September 5, 1987 | |||
Recorded | 1987 (remix and overdubs) | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 4:05 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Steve Winwood singles chronology | ||||
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"Valerie" is a song written by English musician and songwriter Steve Winwood and Will Jennings, and originally recorded by Winwood for his third solo album, Talking Back to the Night (1982).
The song deals with a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday. In an interview with Songfacts, Will Jennings said: "Valerie is a real person, whose identity I will not reveal. She was almost at the top of the world in her profession and let it slip away from her. She was a dear friend and this was my tribute to her." [1] It has been alleged, however, that he was thinking about singer Valerie Carter. [2]
On its original release, the single reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and number 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In 1987, a remix by Tom Lord-Alge was included as a single from Winwood's compilation album Chronicles . The remixed version of "Valerie" climbed to number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1987, and also reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. Both versions also reached number 13 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
DJ Falcon recalled in an interview that he and Thomas Bangalter, as a duo called Together, had sampled "Valerie" to create a track that they used in DJ sets. Falcon added that the duo had no intention of releasing it as a single, despite demand from various outlets. [3]
Eric Prydz later sampled "Valerie" in 2004 for a house music track and presented it to Winwood, who was so impressed with what Prydz had done, he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track. [4] It was released as "Call on Me" that same year. [5] "Call on Me" was, in turn, sampled in 2009's "Pass Out" from Chris Brown (featuring Eva Simons) on his Graffiti album, also co-produced by Prydz.
1982 release
1987 release
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Wilbur H. Jennings is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has won several awards including three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards.
Stephen Lawrence Winwood is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player and vocalist, prominent for his distinctive soulful high tenor voice, Winwood plays other instruments proficiently, including drums, mandolin, bass and saxophone.
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"Higher Love" is a 1986 song by English singer Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life (1986). It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood. The background vocals were performed by Chaka Khan, who also appeared in the music video.
"Call on Me" is a song co-written and produced by Swedish DJ and producer Eric Prydz. The song is based on a sample of Steve Winwood's 1982 song "Valerie" from the album Talking Back to the Night. "Call on Me" received significant sales success and topped several record charts. The song is famous for its music video, which features several young women and a man performing aerobics and dancing in a sexually suggestive manner.
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Back in the High Life is the fourth solo album by English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood, released on 30 June 1986. The album proved to be Winwood's biggest success to that date, certified Gold in the UK and 3× Platinum in the US, and it reached the top twenty in most Western countries. It collected three Grammy Awards and generated five hit singles, starting with "Higher Love", which became Winwood's first Billboard Hot 100 number-one chart topper, coming 20 years after he first entered that chart with "Keep on Running" by the Spencer Davis Group. Other global hit singles from the album were "Freedom Overspill", "Back in the High Life Again" and "The Finer Things". The single "Split Decision", with ex-Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, was a US hit.
Talking Back to the Night is the third solo studio album by English recording artist Steve Winwood. Released less than two years after the top 3 hit Arc of a Diver, it failed to see as much success as its predecessor, reaching #28 on the Billboard 200. "Valerie" was a minor hit in 1982, but when it and the title track were remixed and re-released in 1987 for Chronicles, the newer version of Valerie became a top 10 hit, while the remix of "Talking Back to the Night" hit the Billboard Hot 100, but failed to crack the Top 40. The track "Help Me Angel" was also remixed for Chronicles, and was then released for the first time as a single.
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