"Ai No Corrida" (lit. ''Love Race'') is a song by the English singer and multi-instrumentalist

Chaz Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...

, written by Jankel and

Kenny Young Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Ma ...

. The title is based on the Japanese title of the erotic film ''

In the Realm of the Senses ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (french: link=no, L'Empire des sens, Japanese: , ''Ai no Korīda'', "Bullfight of Love") is a 1976 erotic art film written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It is a fictionalised and sexually explicit treatment of a ...

''. It was first recorded in 1980 and featured on Chaz Jankel's debut album ''

Chas Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...

'' for

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

's 1981 recording of the song was a top 30 hit in the United States, and won the

Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

in 1982.

Original version and name origin

"Ai No Corrida" is a song written by Chaz Jankel and Kenny Young, first recorded in 1980 and featured on Jankel's self-titled debut album for A&M Records. is the Japanese word for "love", while ''Corrida'' is the Portuguese word for "race".

Charts

Cover versions

Quincy Jones version

The song was covered by

in 1981 on his album '' The Dude'', with vocals by Dune (a.k.a. Charles May) and Patti Austin. Jones's version peaked at number 28 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 10 on the R&B chart. In the UK, it peaked at number 14 in May 1981.

Awards

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

and Jones received the 1982

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

for their recording of this song.

Chart performance

Spanish version

Jones also recorded a Spanish-language version for the 2006 charity album ''

Rhythms del mundo ''Rhythms del Mundo'' is a nonprofit collaborative album, which fuses an all-star cast of Cuban musicians including Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo of the Buena Vista Social Club with tracks from US, UK and Irish artists such as Dido, Arctic Mon ...

'', with vocals by Vania Borges.

Uniting Nations version

British dance music act

Uniting Nations Uniting Nations are a British dance music act formed in Liverpool in 2004. They achieved chart success across Europe. The act was originally made up of Paul Keenan and Daz Sampson as band members, songwriters and producers. After their 2005 h ...

released the song as their third single from the band album '' One World'' after the success of "

Out of Touch "Out of Touch" is a song by American duo Hall & Oates from their twelfth studio album ''Big Bam Boom'' (1984). The song was released as the lead single from ''Big Bam Boom'' on Thursday, October 4, 1984, by RCA Records. This song was their last ...

" and " You and Me". The song featured the vocals of Laura More of

Eric Prydz Eric Sheridan Prydz (, ; born 19 July 1976), also known by his many aliases including Pryda () and Cirez D (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer. He rose to fame with his 2004 hit single " Call on Me", and saw continued chart success with " Pr ...

and " Call On Me" fame. The backing vocals are from Steve M. Smith and

Yolanda Quartey Yolanda Claire Quartey (born 31 July 1983), known professionally as Yola or Yola Carter, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. Her debut studio album ''Walk Through Fire'' (2019) received critical acclaim and earned her four Gr ...

. The song was produced by Essex Buddha, with Hal Ritson as sample replay producer, and came in 12-inch vinyl, in enhanced CD (which included the video).

Track listings

12-inch single :A. Ai No Corrida (Sharp Boys dub) (7:44) :B. Ai No Corrida (Uniting Nations extended mix) (6:02) CD single # "Ai No Corrida" (Uniting Nations radio edit) (2:49) # "Ai No Corrida" (original radio edit) (3:10) # "Ai No Corrida" (Uniting Nations extended mix) (6:01) # "Ai No Corrida" (Sharp Boys club mix) (7:43) # "Ai No Corrida" (video)

Charts

Japanese version

In Japan, 1981, a

Japanese-language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...

version was released by RVC, performed by Japanese unit BIG BANG (Yoshifumi Oba, Yoshihiko Shiraishi, Katsumi Takeichi, Shunji Inoue), produced by Koichi Fujita.

References

External links

Ai No Corrida original version by Chaz Jankel
on A&M Records *
Ai No Corrida live medley
performed at Montreax in 2008 for Quincy Jones' 75th birthday
Ai No Korida 2005 music video
by Uniting Nations {{authority control 1980 songs 1981 singles Chaz Jankel songs Quincy Jones songs 2005 singles Uniting Nations songs Songs written by Chaz Jankel Songs written by Kenny Young Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) Cultural depictions of Sada Abe A&M Records singles