Vitamin L

Last updated
"Vitamin L"
Single by B.E. Taylor Group
from the album Love Won the Fight
A-side "Vitamin L (Club Version)"
B-side "Vitamin L (LP Version)"
Released1983
Genre Electropop
Length5:29
Label MCA Records
Songwriter(s) Rick Witkowski, Debbie Witkowski
Producer(s) Rick Witkowski, Joe Macre
B.E. Taylor Group singles chronology
"Love Won the Fight"
(1983)
"Vitamin L"
(1983)
"Dangerous Rhythm"
(1986)

"Vitamin L" is a song by the American pop rock band B.E. Taylor Group. It is the fifth track on the band's second studio album, Love Won the Fight , and also the third single pulled from that album. In a departure of the norm of B. E. Taylor singing lead vocals, drummer Joey d'Amico sings lead on this track. It also heavily uses synthesizers and a brass sections as the main instruments. The guitar's role is minimized to a steady strumming pattern with sustained power chords in the chorus. The lyrics tell the story of a man whose medical condition can only be treated with an unstable drug, called Vitamin L, that reacts "when boy meets girl". In the last verse, it is revealed the drug was, in fact, love, and the man is cured of his ailment when he falls in love with a woman.

This song is the B. E. Taylor Group's most popular song, as it peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and stayed on the chart for eight weeks. The song also spawned a popular music video that scored heavy airplay on MTV. B. E. and Rick Witkowsi are featured as the doctor and pharmacist in the video, respectively. The song also is a near constant at live performances.

B. E. Taylor later re-recorded this song on his first solo album, Try Love , as more of a rock song, getting rid of the synthesizers and making the bass, lead guitar, and drums much more involved. The lyrics in the verses have entire lines changed as well, mildly changing the story in the process, e.g. "A chemical reaction occurs/Every time that boys meets girl" to "It could keep us all in touch/But we can never take too much", erasing the idea that the vitamin is an unstable drug. Three whole lines in the third verse are changed, but these do not change the story in any way.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

  1. A. "Vitamin L" (Club Version) (4:46)
  2. B. "Vitamin L" (LP Version) (5:29)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Flock of Seagulls</span> English new wave and synth-pop band

A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Down in the Park</span> 1979 single by Tubeway Army

"Down in the Park" is a 1979 song by the English band Tubeway Army, featuring lead vocals by Gary Numan. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Replicas, though was not a hit. The song was written and produced by the band's frontman Gary Numan, and despite its lack of commercial success, has been performed by Numan regularly in his live shows throughout the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitar solo</span> Passage or section of music designated for a guitar

A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written to be played on a classical, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular music such as blues, swing, jazz, jazz fusion, rock and heavy metal, guitar solos often contain virtuoso techniques and varying degrees of improvisation. Guitar solos on classical guitar, which are typically written in musical notation, are also used in classical music forms such as chamber music and concertos.

<i>The Miracle</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Queen

The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989 by Parlophone Records and Capitol Records in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. respectively, where it was the band's only studio album to be released on latter label. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May's marital problems and Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis in 1987. Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they changed the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a photo of the band on the front cover.

<i>Hot Space</i> 1982 studio album by Queen

Hot Space is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 4 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many elements of disco, funk, R&B, dance, pop and new wave music on the album. This made the album less popular with fans who preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band. Queen's decision to record a dance-oriented album germinated with the massive success of their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust" in the US.

<i>Queen Rocks</i> 1997 compilation album by Queen

Queen Rocks is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released on 3 November 1997.

Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and the 12-bar blues. Popular music songs traditionally use the same music for each verse or stanza of lyrics. Pop and traditional forms can be used even with songs that have structural differences in melodies. The most common format in modern popular music is introduction (intro), verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and chorus. In rock music styles, notably heavy metal music, there is usually one or more guitar solos in the song, often found after the middle chorus part. In pop music, there may be a guitar solo, or a solo performed with another instrument such as a synthesizer or a saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whip It (Devo song)</span> 1980 single by Devo

"Whip It" is a song by American new wave band Devo from their third studio album Freedom of Choice (1980). It is a new wave and synth-pop song that features a synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums in its instrumentation. The apparently nonsensical lyrics have a common theme revolving around the ability to deal with one's problems by "whipping it". Co-written by bassist Gerald Casale and lead vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo recorded "Whip It" with producer Robert Margouleff at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want You (She's So Heavy)</span> 1969 song by the Beatles

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song closes side one of their 1969 album Abbey Road and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It was the first song recorded for the Abbey Road album but one of the last songs to be finished; the band gathered in the studio to mix the song on 20 August 1969, marking the final time that all four Beatles were together in the studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone Cold Crazy</span> 1974 song by Queen

"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at the time, it was performed live at almost every Queen concert from 1974 to 1978. "Stone Cold Crazy" is included on the band's 1992 compilation album, Classic Queen and was released as a promo single in that year by Hollywood Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run Like Hell</span> 1980 single by Pink Floyd

"Run Like Hell" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It appears on the album The Wall. It was released as a single in 1980, reaching #15 in the Canadian singles chart and #18 in Sweden, but it only reached #53 in the U.S. A 12" single of "Run Like Hell," "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick in the Wall " peaked at #57 on the Disco Top 100 chart in the U.S. To date, it is the last original composition written by both Gilmour and Waters, the last of such under the Pink Floyd banner, and is the last composition ever recorded by all four members of the classic 70s-era Floyd lineup together, within their traditional instrumental roles of Waters on bass, Gilmour on guitars, Nick Mason on drums, and Richard Wright on keyboards, on the same song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Excuses (Alice in Chains song)</span> 1994 single by Alice in Chains

"No Excuses" is the lead single from American rock band Alice in Chains' third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a charting success, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It has gone on to become one of the band's most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of "No Excuses" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band's Unplugged live album and home video release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Be My Wife</span> Song by David Bowie

"Be My Wife" is a song by English musician David Bowie from the 1977 album Low. It was released as the second single of the album on 17 June 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Invisible Man (song)</span> 1989 single by Queen

"The Invisible Man" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by drummer Roger Taylor but credited to Queen. The song is sung mostly by Freddie Mercury, with vocal contributions from Taylor. The song was released in August 1989 as the third single from the bands album The Miracle. Taylor claims that he got the inspiration to create the song while reading a book, and the bassline instantly came to his imagination. The song title was inspired by the H. G. Wells novel of the same name.

<i>The Works</i> (Queen album) 1984 studio album by Queen

The Works is the eleventh studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 27 February 1984 by EMI Records just shortly after recording for the album had been completed in the United Kingdom and it is the band's first studio album to be released by Capitol Records in the United States. After the synth-heavy Hot Space (1982), the album saw the re-emergence of Brian May and Roger Taylor's rock sound, while still incorporating the early 80s retro futuristic electronic music and New York funk scenes. Recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, California, and Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, from August 1983 to January 1984, the album's title comes from a comment Taylor made as recording began – "Let's give them the works!".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Footsteps in the Dark</span> 1977 song performed by The Isley Brothers

"Footsteps in the Dark" is a 1977 slow jam recorded by The Isley Brothers as an album track featured on the group's album Go for Your Guns. It was the B-side to "Groove with You", which reached number 16 on the R&B singles chart. The song is noted for its unique guitar timbre which can be heard on other Isley Brother tracks such as "Voyage to Atlantis", as well as marking Ron Isley's growing transition into singing more ballads compared to the band's earlier funk approach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Nameless (song)</span> 2005 single by Slipknot

"The Nameless" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The song was released as the only single from their first live album, 9.0: Live, while it is also included on their third studio album, Vol. 3: . A music video was released for the single in late 2005 and also was featured on MTV's Rock Top 10 as number two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm in Love with My Car</span> 1975 song by Queen

"I'm in Love with My Car" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released on their fourth album A Night at the Opera in 1975. It is the album's only song written entirely by drummer Roger Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1987 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Tunnel of Love" is the title song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 Tunnel of Love album. It was released as the second single from the album, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Like the first single from the album, "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love" reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached the top twenty in Canada peaking at number seventeen. The music video received five MTV Video Music Awards nominations, including Video of the Year and Best Male Video.

<i>Odbrana i poslednji dani</i> 1982 studio album by Idoli

Odbrana i poslednji dani is the first studio album by Yugoslav new wave band Idoli released in 1982.

References