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"French Kiss" is a song by American
DJ and record producer
Lil Louis
Marvin Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Da ...
that became a European and American hit in 1989, despite being banned by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The song also was a hit in
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
around the world and it spent two weeks at number one on the US
''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in October 1989. It became a crossover
pop hit, peaking at number 50 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was also a mainstream pop hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number two in August 1989.
Originally an
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
song (apart from wordless moans), vocals were recorded after the song was picked up for distribution by
major labels. In the United States, the lead vocals on the track were performed by American singer
Shawn Christopher
Shawn Christopher is a female African-American house-music singer from Chicago, Illinois.
Career
She was a touring backing vocalist for R&B singer Chaka Khan, from 1982 to 1985. She was also a member of the industrial dance band known as My L ...
and in Europe vocal duties were performed by a woman known only as "Pasquale".
Structure and usage
Distinctions of this song are that it is based on a single note (F-natural) and that it gradually slows down to a complete stop, marked by the sound of female moans, and then gradually speeding up. This was an innovative feature for any dance track at that time. The song includes a more erotic vocal performance than the title implies.
The American 12-inch single was never released commercially on compact disc. It was sampled heavily on
Josh Wink
Joshua Winkelman (born April 20, 1970), better known by his stage name Josh Wink, is an American electronic dance music DJ, label owner, producer, and remixer. He is a native of Philadelphia, United States. A pioneering DJ in the American rav ...
's single "How's Your Evening So Far?"—credited to Wink vs. Lil Louis. It was also sampled on
the Wiseguys
The Wiseguys were a British electronic duo active in the mid to late 1990s. They produced the song "Start the Commotion", which was featured in a Mitsubishi TV advertisement, as well as the films ''The Lizzie McGuire Movie'', '' Zoolander'' a ...
' 1998 song "Au-Pair Girls". In 1990, French TV presenter
Lagaf'
Vincent Rouil (; born 30 October 1959 in Mont-Saint-Aignan), better known as Vincent Lagaf' (), is a French humorist, TV presenter, singer and actor.
Biography
In 1987, Vincent Lagaf', who had just arrived in Paris, came to national attention as ...
used a sample of the song in a parodic version under the name
Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss).
The song was also sampled on a remix of "
The Loco-Motion
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.
The song is notable for appearing in the ...
" for
Kylie Minogue's 1990
Enjoy Yourself Tour
Enjoy may refer to:
Music
*Enjoy, an album by Bob Sinclar
*Enjoy, a song by Janet Jackson
*Enjoy, a song from Björk's album ''Post''
* Enjoy Records, an American record label
* ''Enjoy'' (play), a 1980 comedy play by Alan Bennett
* ''Enjoy!'' (De ...
titled "The Oz Tour Mix", which remained unreleased in studio form for many years until it was finally released on the bonus disc of remixes of the 2002 compilation ''
Greatest Hits '87–'92''.
The track was featured on the 1999
Carl Cox
Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England.
Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and e ...
DJ album ''Non-stop 2000''—CD 1, starting roughly midway through track six, "Funk on the Roll". Cox seamlessly mixed it in the background continuously, through the whole of the next track "Let It Roll", before it plays in its entire original form as track eight.
The song was also sampled in "Custom Made (Give It to You)" by
Lil' Kim, which appeared on her album ''
The Notorious K.I.M.
''The Notorious K.I.M.'' is the second studio album by American rapper Lil' Kim. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Atlantic Records and was her first album on her new label Queen Bee Entertainment. It debuted at number four on the US ''Billbo ...
''.
Impact and legacy
American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter
Armand van Helden picked "French Kiss" as one of his "classic cuts" in 1995, saying, "This song is my first introduction to
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
because, to me, it's a serious
house track. It was for real house enthusiasts at the time. It's a simple track which builds, it's very electronic. It's full of soul. It's very sexual. It's the first
dance track I've known to date to change bpms drastically – I've never heard of an electronic track that had the balls to do that." Also British DJ and producer
Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...
picked it as one of his "classic cuts" the same year, adding, "One of the most important riffs ever written in house music and frequently imitated but never bettered. Everyone else has put it in their charts so why shouldn't I? I signed it and it makes me proud. You can hear its influence in almost 50% of house music that comes out in Europe."
''
Mixmag
''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights.
History
The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
'' ranked it number 53 in its ''100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time'' list in 1996, commenting, "Back in 1989, this was the record that every DJ needed. The one that, if you dared mix out it before the slow down -
orgasm
Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...
bit - speed up gimmick, a horde of people would come up to the DJ for a whinge. At the time it was a bit of fun, a peak time stomper for the height of orbital raving. But looking back, nothing else set the repetitive building tone so much for what would become trance. Ten minutes of eyes-closed bliss from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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's legendary trackhead."
''
Q Magazine
''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...
'' ranked it number 516 in their list of the ''1001 Best Songs Ever'' in 2003.
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' featured it in their ''20 Best Chicago House Records'' list in 2014, saying, "For all the pseudo-romantic flailings of contemporary
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
diva anthems, it's hard to match the raw sexiness of this track, whose vocals came courtesy of
Shawn Christopher
Shawn Christopher is a female African-American house-music singer from Chicago, Illinois.
Career
She was a touring backing vocalist for R&B singer Chaka Khan, from 1982 to 1985. She was also a member of the industrial dance band known as My L ...
. But Louis also stretched house's characteristic build-ups to their most dramatic extreme for the era. "French Kiss" is one long, drawn-out crescendo to a climax — get it? — and it hits an almost
techno
Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...
-like, robotic trance."
''
Slant Magazine'' ranked it 7th in its ''100 Greatest Dance Songs'' list in 2006, adding, "'French Kiss' is a moaning, sex-as-house track that audaciously and amazingly ''slows down'' and then stops altogether. It builds again, chugging back to its initial speed until it fades brighter than ever in post-orgasmic glow." In 2020, the magazine ranked it number 26 in their list of ''The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time''.
''
Time Outs 2015 list of ''The 20 Best House Tracks Ever'' included it as number four. They wrote, "This number from Chicago's Lil' Louis was one of the first house tracks to enjoy both considerable commercial success and heavy club airplay on its release. Even one listen to its infectious, unrelenting groove and orgasmic tempo shifts is enough to understand why it got everyone so excited.
I 2022, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' ranked "French Kiss" number 21 in their list of ''200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time''.
Formats and track listings
United Kingdom
* 12-inch, cassette and CD single
# "French Kiss" — 10:02
# "Wargames" — 7:18
• The tracks are actually 9:55 and 7:13 long, respectively, but almost all artwork denote the longer durations.
* 7-inch single
# "French Kiss" — 4:09
# "New York" — 3:40
* French Kisses (The Complete Mix Collection E.P.) – 12-inch, cassette and CD
# "French Kiss (Original Mix)" — 10:02
# "French Kiss (Innocent Until Proven Guilty Vocal Remix) (Re-Layed)" — 9:45
# "French Kiss (Passion Radio Mix)" — 4:15
# "French Kiss (Back Up Your Conversion Mix)" — 9:45
# "French Kiss (Hitting Virgin Territory Instrumental Mix)" — 3:50
United States
* 12-inch single
# "French Kiss" — 10:02
# "New York" — 3:40
# "Wargames (Remix)" — 7:18
# "Jupiter" — 5:20
* 12-inch remix single
# "French Kiss" (The Original Underground Mix) — 9:54
# "French Kiss" (Talkin' All That Jazz Mix) — 4:14
# "French Kiss" (Short But Sweet Radio Vocal Mix) — 4:08
# "French Kiss" (The Songbird Sings Long Vocal Mix) — 9:59
# "French Kiss" (Cherry Talk Conversational Mix) — 5:29
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
See also
*
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
This is a list of number-one dance hits as recorded by ''Billboard'' magazine's Dance Club Songs chart – a weekly national survey of popular songs in U.S. dance clubs. It began on October 26, 1974, under the title ''Disco Action'' chart. It is ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Kiss (Song)
1989 songs
1989 debut singles
1980s instrumentals
Songs about kissing
Lil Louis songs
Epic Records singles
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
FFRR Records singles
Songs banned by the BBC