"Baby Love" is a song by American singer Regina. The single hit number one on the dance charts for two weeks in mid-1986. The single crossed over to the pop singles chart, where it peaked at number 10 on US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' Soul Singles chart. "Baby Love" would be her only single to chart on both the Pop and Soul Singles charts, but several follow up singles charted on the dance chart. The song was written by

Stephen Bray Stephen Pate Bray (born December 23, 1956) is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Madonna, being a member of the band Breakfast Club, and for winning the 2017 Grammy Award for the ...

Regina Richards Regina Richards is an American pop singer born in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her hit song "Baby Love", which reached Number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986. "Baby Love" was her only song to chart on the Hot 100, making ...

& Mary Kessler. Bray had written several hits for

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, and "Baby Love" was actually intended for her to record. After she declined, Regina recorded the vocal herself in late 1985, though with Bray's production it sounded similar to Madonna's other recordings of the time and was sometimes mistaken for one. Although recorded the same year, the first released version of the song was by Dutch girl group The Star Sisters, who released it on their 1985 album ''Danger''. A music video for "Baby Love" featuring Regina was created on February 12, 1986 by West 78th Street Records in collaboration with Hugmynd and Saga Film to promote the single.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Dannii Minogue version

"Baby Love" was covered by Australian singer

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...

for her debut album, ''

Love and Kisses Love & Kisses is a 1970s disco group assembled by European producer Alec Costandinos, with a variety of male and female singers. After collaborating on Cerrone's debut album ''Love In C Minor'' (1976), Costandinos assembled Love & Kisses in ...

'' (1991). Minogue recorded her version for the European release of her album and its original pop mix can be found on its single release. The song was produced by Les Adams, Emma Freilich and Andy Whitmore. The remix by Steve 'Silk' Hurley was released in October 1991 as the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. It reached the top 20 in Ireland and the United Kingdom, becoming Minogue's fourth top 20 single. In Australia, the song charted within the top 30. The remixes of the song done by Steve 'Silk' Hurly were successful in dance clubs and are credited with giving Minogue a new sound and image.

Critical reception

Matthew Hocter from Albumism noted that "with a clearer focus on that

New Jack Swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

sound" and the addition of some "heavy on

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

" covers " Jump to the Beat" and "Baby Love", "the younger Minogue demonstrated that she had a very soulful approach to music." John Lucas from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the song "a genuinely credible early-'90s house music number". Mark Frith from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' commented, "...this is Dannii's foray into the world of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

. She obviously fancies herself as some sort of soul diva and she manages to pass herself off as one quite efficiently. As a result, Baby Love works quite well."

Formats and track listings

* CD single (Europe and Australia) (D11077) # "Baby Love" (Silky 70's edit) # "Baby Love" (Silky 70's 12-inch mix) # "Baby Love" (Maurice's House remix) * Cassette single (C11077) # "Baby Love" (Silky 70's edit) # "Baby Love" (Maurice's House remix) * Vinyl single (X14345) # "Baby Love" (Silky 70's edit) # "Baby Love" (Maurice's House remix) # "Baby Love" (Maurice's House Mo Dub 4 Ya mix)

Personnel

* Dannii Minogue – lead vocals * Les Adams, Emma Freilich, Andy Whitmore – production * Steve 'Silk' Hurley – remix, additional production * Simon Fowler – photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baby Love (Regina Song) 1986 singles 1986 songs 1991 singles Atlantic Records singles Dannii Minogue songs MCA Records singles Songs written by Stephen Bray Warner Music Group singles