"I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" is the debut single written by

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

and originally performed by

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", "Eve ...

in 1984. In 1986, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" was covered by Robert Palmer. Palmer's cover fared better on the pop chart while Cherrelle's version was a hit on the R&B chart.

Original Cherrelle version

The song was released as Cherrelle's debut single and was her first hit, peaking at number 8 on the soul chart and number 79 on the Hot 100. On the US dance chart, "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" went to number 6. A slightly altered version of the song is featured in the 2015

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

biopic '' Straight Outta Compton''.

Chart positions

Robert Palmer version

English rock singer Robert Palmer recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

one year later and it was released as the fifth single from his eighth studio album ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'' (1985). The single hit No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986, behind " Amanda" by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The music video, which was a take on the making of a music video, featured women like the ones featured in " Addicted to Love"; it hit No. 1 on MTV on October 17, 1986.

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Other cover versions

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

sampled

's version on her song "Turn You On" from her 1998 album '' Order in the Court''. * Mariah Carey covered the song in 2001 for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

to the film, ''

Glitter Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...

''.

also produced Mariah Carey's cover and she sang over the original instrumental. *

DJ Colette Colette Marino (born May 27, 1975, in Chicago, Illinois), known as DJ Colette or simply as Colette, is a house music DJ and vocalist from Chicago, Illinois. She is a resident DJ at the SmartBar in Chicago, Illinois (along with Kaskade and others ...

covered the song in 2005 for the album ''Hypnotized''.

References

{{authority control 1984 debut singles 1986 singles Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Cherrelle songs Robert Palmer (singer) songs 1984 songs Tabu Records singles Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards Mariah Carey songs