"Easy Lover" is a song performed by Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire and

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

, and jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

. The song appeared on Bailey's solo album, ''

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''. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts, and it appears on both his 1990 album, '' Serious Hits... Live!'', and his 1998 compilation album, '' ...Hits''. It is Bailey's only US Top 40 hit as a solo artist. The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it spent 23 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, including 7 weeks in the Top 10, and peaked at No. 2 the weeks of 2 February 1985 and 9 February 1985, behind the chart-topping " I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks. The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold, as the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to one million units until 1989. In addition, "Easy Lover" has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

. "Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in and was Grammy Award nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Background

In 1984, Phil Collins was hired as the

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

for Philip Bailey's solo album, ''

''. According to Collins, Bailey approached him at the end of the sessions for the album and asked him to write a song together. In "Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs", a 2016 interview he gave to '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, Collins said of the song: "So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn't forget it. That song doesn't sound like any particular era. It's just fantastic." According to the official sheet music, the song is in the key of F minor and has a tempo of 105 BPM, though the studio recording has a tempo of 130 BPM.

Music video

The song's music video, filmed at Etward Studios, London, England, humorously depicts the making of a music video. It was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich.

Personnel

* Philip Bailey –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

and backing vocals *

– lead vocals and backing vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, keyboards * Daryl Stuermer – electric guitar *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Lesette Wilson – keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 singles 1984 songs 1985 singles American pop rock songs Cashbox number-one singles Dance-rock songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles CBS Records singles Columbia Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Male vocal duets Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Phil Collins songs Philip Bailey songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Phil Collins Songs written by Phil Collins Songs written by Philip Bailey UK Singles Chart number-one singles