"If You Were Here Tonight" is a song written by

Monte Moir Monte Moir (born September 10, 1958) is an American songwriter, producer and musician best known as the keyboardist of Morris Day's band The Time and songwriter of many notable American artists. Biography Monte Moir is the original and current ...

and recorded by American recording artist

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven Top 40 singles on the US R&B chart, three of whic ...

. It is the second single from the singer's self-titled debut solo album, ''

'' (1985). Following the successful chart performances of the single "

Innocent Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

", "If You Were Here Tonight" was released as the album's second single. "If You Were Here Tonight" is a melancholy

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

about the break-up of a relationship. It is the only song out of three songs on the album written and produced by

to be released as a single.

Chart performance

The song was O'Neal's first successful solo single in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1986. It had originally peaked at No. 81 in August 1985, but following the top ten success of the

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 ...

duet "

Saturday Love "Saturday Love" is a song performed by American R&B singers Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. It was released in October 1985. The song peaked at #2 on the US R&B chart and became a moderate pop hit peaking at #26 on the US Hot 100 in the spring ...

", the single re-entered the charts in early 1986. It remains one of his most aired songs on British radio. In the US, the song became his second R&B hit, reaching No. 17 on the

Hot Black Singles 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 ...

chart. It was also one of his only two hits to chart in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(reaching No. 20).

Track listing

12" maxi (TBUA 12.6391, A 12.6391) #"If You Were Here Tonight" - 6:08 #" What's Missing" - 5:42 #"If You Were Here Tonight (Soft Version)" - 5:06 12" single (TA 6391) #"If You Were Here Tonight" - 6:08 #"Innocent (Instrumental)" - 9:54 #"If You Were Here Tonight (Soft Version)" - 5:06 7" single (A 6391) #"If You Were Here Tonight (Remix)" - 3:40 #"If You Were Here Tonight (Soft Version)" - 5:06

Sales chart performance

Peak positions

Cover versions

*Jamaican reggae singer

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae artist. While his early recordings were dancehall and reggae, he later moved towards hip hop and rap. His most popular single is the 2003 ...

covered the song in 1990, retitled "If You Were Here", taken from his self-titled debut album released the same year. *English singer

Matt Goss Matthew Weston Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of 1980s pop group Bros, which also featured his twin brother Luke as the drummer. Goss as a solo artist has released five st ...

, formerly of the band Bros, released his version as a single in 1996. *Jamaican reggae singer Tony Curtis recorded a cover of the song in 1998, which is included on the ''Sail Away'' album. *British R&B singer Tony Momrelle also covered the song in 1998, with

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

mixes by Daryl B and Mark Yardley (of Stanton Warriors) proving to be popular the following year. *English singer

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 an ...

covered the song in 2015 which is included on the Deluxe Edition of the album, '' Closer''.

Sampling

*The song's instrumental was sampled as the basis for the highly popular dancehall beat called the "Sail Away Riddim" in 1998. This was done by producing an uptempo dancehall beat woven around the airy keyboard riff from "If You Were Here Tonight". The Sail Away

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

was used to produce a 12-track "one-rhythm" album of songs using the same instrumental. Artists featured on the ''Sail Away'' album include Beenie Man,

Mr. Vegas Clifford Smith (born December 29th, 1974), better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Biography Clifford Smith was born in Kingston in 1974.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Gu ...

, Chico, Frisco Kid, Sean Paul,

Richie Stephens Richard Stephenson (born 5 December 1966), better known as Richie Stephens is a Jamaican R&B, dancehall and reggae singer and producer. Biography Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica,

T.O.K. T.O.K. were a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consisted of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson.Kenner, Rob (2005)Boomshots, ''Vibe'', August 2005, ...

, Nitty Kutchie, Round Head, Copper Cat, Demo Delgado, and Tony Curtis with his version of "If You Were Here Tonight". *The song was sampled by

John Forté John Forté (born January 30, 1975) is an American recording artist and producer. He is primarily known for being a member of the musical duo Refugee Camp All-Stars, and his production work on the Fugees album '' The Score''. He has released f ...

on the song "Move On (I'm Leavin')" from 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 1997 motion picture '' Sprung''. *It was sampled by

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is also a member of the ...

on the song "It Is What It Is" from his 1998 album ''

Rasassination ''Rasassination'' is the second album by rapper Ras Kass. It was released on September 22, 1998 by PatchWerk. It peaked at #63 on ''Billboard'' 200 and #11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Rasassination - Charts & Awards allmusic One charting sin ...

''. *American rapper

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper from Gary, Indiana. After initially being signed to Interscope Records in 2006, Gibbs recorded his debut studio album under the label ...

sampled the song in 2013 for his song, "The Color Purple". *Oakland-based rapper

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, i ...

sampled the song for his song "Thugs Pain (Remix)" from the mixtape ''100% Gutta''. *Barbadian singer Rihanna sampled the song in her 2016 song "

Work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal t ...

", which reached number one in the United States.

References

1985 singles Alexander O'Neal songs Songs written by Monte Moir Contemporary R&B ballads 1985 songs Tabu Records singles Soul ballads Songs about heartache 1980s ballads {{1980s-single-stub