Peter Frampton at the 2011 Ottawa Bluesfest (cropped)

"Baby, I Love Your Way" is a song written and performed by English singer

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

, released as a single in September 1975. It first featured on Frampton's 1975 album, '' Frampton'', where it segues from the previous track "Nassau". A live version of the song was later released on his 1976 multi-platinum album ''

Frampton Comes Alive! ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' is the first double live album by English rock musician Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. It is one of the best-selling live albums. " Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We D ...

'', where it gained popularity as a hit song, peaking at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications) It also reached number three in Canada. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the live version as an "easy rocker" and said that the portion of the song where Frampton sings the title lyrics made "an effective hook." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "an excellent tune" explaining that "primarily, this is an acoustic tune, and Frampton sings with sensitivity over the soft backing." In 2017, Frampton discussed this song while talking to Washington D.C. lawmakers about inequitable revenue payments from streaming music services like

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

. "For 55 million streams of 'Baby I Love Your Way', I got $1,700," said Frampton. "Their jaws dropped and they asked me to repeat that for them."

Track listing

* 7-inch single – United States (1975) # "Baby, I Love Your Way" – 3:17 (Edited from the LP version that runs 4:43) # "(I'll Give You) Money" – 4:35

Live version

* 7-inch single – United States (1976) # "Baby, I Love Your Way" – 3:28 (Edited from the LP version that runs 4:43) # "It's a Plain Shame" – 4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Will to Power version

The American neo-disco group

Will to Power The will to power (german: der Wille zur Macht) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans. However, the concept was never systematic ...

recorded a medley of "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "

Free Bird "Free Bird", also spelled "Freebird", is a song written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant and performed by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song featured on the band's debut album in 1973. Released as a single in November 1974, "F ...

", which reached No. 1 in the US.

Big Mountain version

The American reggae/pop band Big Mountain released a cover of the song in February 1994, which appeared on the soundtrack of the film ''

Reality Bites ''Reality Bites'' is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller, in his directorial debut. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with supporting roles by Janeane Garofalo and Steve ...

'', starring

Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

and

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

. This version achieved major worldwide success, reaching number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

(being kept off the top spot by "

Love is All Around "Love Is All Around" is a song recorded by English rock band the Troggs, featuring a string quartet and a 'tick tock' sound on percussion, in D-major. Released as a single in October 1967, it was a top-ten hit in both the UK and US. "Love I ...

" by

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit "Love Is All Around", which w ...

). The single reached the top ten in many countries across Europe, including topping the charts of Denmark, Spain, and Sweden. It also reached the top five in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Canada, where it reached number two.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it an "earthy rendition" which is "right in the pocket of current trends." Dr. Bayyan from ''

'' wrote, "This song deals with the beauty of the subject that the group is focusing on. The lyrics are very intense and spiritual and are enhanced by the raw string and wind instruments which captivate the imagination." Ron Fell and Diane Rufer from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' noted that this cover "has teeth" and "could be big." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Another '70s pop classic has come out of the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

grinder to enjoy its second youth in the '90s.

wrote it, not knowing that one day it would appear in the ''

'' film." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' gave it four out of five, adding that "this is a lightweight reggae cover", and it "is definitely in a summery mood."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by Matti Leshem and premiered in April 1994.

Track listing

* CD single – Europe (1994) # "Baby, I Love Your Way" – 4:28 # "Baby, I Love Your Way" (6 Point 6 on the Richter Scale Mix) – 6:54 # "Baby, te quiero a tí" – 4:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Walter Jackson version

Walter Jackson released a cover of the song in 1977. It reached number 19 on the U.S. R&B chart.Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 219.

References

{{authority control 1970s ballads 1975 songs 1976 singles 1994 singles A&M Records singles British soft rock songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Live singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Peter Frampton songs Pop ballads RCA Records singles Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Peter Frampton Songs written by Peter Frampton