"I'm Going Down" is a song written and produced by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

, and performed by American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and R&B group

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including "Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", "Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

in 1976. It is from the film ''

Car Wash A car wash, carwash, or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior of motor vehicles. Car washes can be self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or fully automated (possi ...

'' and is featured on its soundtrack. In 1994, it was covered by American singer

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

Rose Royce version

The

(original) version received moderate success. It peaked at number seventy on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number ten on the

R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. In the film ''

'', the song serves as a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, as it complements the screen time of Maureen, a forlorn prostitute who desperately seeks a chance at true love with Joe, even as she turns tricks.

Charts

Mary J. Blige version

In 1994, American R&B singer artist

covered "I'm Going Down", titled "I'm Goin' Down", for her second studio album, ''

My Life My Life may refer to: Autobiographies * ''Mein Leben'' (Wagner) (''My Life''), by Richard Wagner, 1870 * ''My Life'' (Clinton autobiography), by Bill Clinton, 2004 * ''My Life'' (Meir autobiography), by Golda Meir, 1973 * ''My Life'' (Mosley a ...

'' (1994). Her version was produced by

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent direct ...

and

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's " Hitmen" team of in-ho ...

. Released as the album's second single, Blige's version peaked at number thirteen on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and number twenty-two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In mid-1995, Blige released a remix featuring

Mr. Cheeks Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and as a solo artist with the single "Lights, Camera, Action!". Biography 1991–2019: L ...

The Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “Ka ...

featuring co-production from "Prince" Charles Alexander and Mark "Led" Ledford, and contains portions of " The What" (1994) by American rappers

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

. "I'm Going Down" is frequently performed at many of Blige's concerts and as well as live sets.

Critical reception

James Masterton noted in his weekly UK chart commentary, that Blige "sparkles" on "a rather fabulous cover" of the old

song. James Hamilton 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 ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update described it as a "exceptional ultra soulful sparse dramatic 61.7bpm Rose Royce remake in authentic mid-Sixties slow Stax/Volt type".

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for Blige's "I'm Goin' Down" was directed from January 14–15, 1995 by

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his career with the revival a ...

and was shot in black and white, with Blige as a lounge singer performing the song in a club, and wearing an-all black suit with a matching hat, walking downstairs (being duplicated over and over again). In the end, the bar patrons applaud her as she walks offstage. The video was later published on Blige's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel in December 2009. It has amassed more than 22.3 million views as of September 2021.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''My Life'' liner notes. *Mary J. Blige – vocals * "Prince" Charles Alexander – tenor saxophone, piccolo flute, additional flute, recording engineer, mixing * Mark "Led" Ledford – trumpet *Bruce Purse - trumpet *Vincent Henry - alto saxophone *

Paul Pesco Paul Pesco (born May 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer and record producer. Biography Pesco was born in Canandaigua, New York, to a Sicilian father (an opera singer and voice instructor) and Ko ...

– guitar * Lenny Underwood – piano * Fred McFarlane - additional keyboards *

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

- violin *Diane Monroe - violin *Lesa Terry - violin *Eileen Folson - cello *Victor Bailey - bass played by *Gloria Agostini - harp *Kevin "K-Dog" Johnson - drums *Frank Colon - percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

" Oh, Boy" off of Cam'ron's third album ''

Come Home with Me ''Come Home with Me'' is the third studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron and it is also his debut under Roc-A-Fella Records. The album was released on May 14, 2002, by Roc-A-Fella Records, Diplomat Records and Def Jam Recordings. It served as ...

'' samples the original Rose Royce song. Mariah Carey also sampled the song in her 2002 album ''

Charmbracelet ''Charmbracelet'' is the ninth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released on December 3, 2002, through MonarC Entertainment and Island Records. The album was Carey's first release since her breakdown following the release of her fi ...

'' for the song "

Boy (I Need You) "Boy (I Need You)" is a song by American singer Mariah Carey, taken from her ninth studio album, ''Charmbracelet'' (2002). It was written by Carey, Justin Smith, Norman Whitfield and Cameron Giles, and produced by the former and Just Blaze. T ...

". Both songs were composed by hip-hop producer Justin "Just Blaze" Smith and are almost identical. On the episode season 3 finale of '' Sister, Sister,'' Tamera (

Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite h ...

) covered the song for a talent show, winning a bet that her sister Tia (

Tia Mowry Tia Mowry is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her starring role as Tia Landry in the sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (1994–1999), opposite her twin sister Tamera Mowry. The sisters then starred together in the Disney Channel Or ...

) had with her enemy—and Tamera's opponent, Marva. *Marcus Canty performed this song on season one of

The X Factor (U.S.) ''The X Factor'' is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, which aired on Fox. Based on t ...

during "Movie Week" and the elimination. *

Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical' ...

performs the song in the "Tech" episode of Smash *Sera Hill performed the song in "Episode 5: The Blind Auditions, Part 5" episode of

The Voice (U.S. season 2) The second season of the American reality talent show ''The Voice'' premiered on NBC on February 5, 2012, in the 10 p.m. ET slot immediately following coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. The first promo aired on NBC on Saturday, October 8, 2011, during ...

*In the movie ''

Little Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

'', Jordan and April perform the

version of the song inside an upscale restaurant, with (13-year old) Jordan starting the performance while laying on a bar. *Paige Thomas performed this song as her audition for the second season of

*Taylor Beckham performed this song on "Episode 3: The Blind Auditions, Part 3" of The Voice (U.S. season 4)

References

{{authority control 1976 songs 1977 singles 1995 singles Rose Royce songs Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Songs written by Norman Whitfield Soul ballads Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield Whitfield Records singles MCA Records singles Uptown Records singles Black-and-white music videos Torch songs Songs about heartache Rhythm and blues ballads 1970s ballads