"Innocent" is a song 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 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 ...

, whose original version was released as his first solo single in 1985 on

Tabu Records Tabu Productions was an American record label founded by Clarence Avant in 1975. The label, Tabu Records, focused on R&B and funk. Founding Avant founded the label after Sussex Records went out of business in June 1975. Tabu Record's flagshi ...

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

'' (1985). The song's distinctive backing vocals were 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 ...

. The song's time was edited for release as a single, with the album version being a medley consisting of "Innocent"/"Alex 9000"/"Innocent II", and was just over six minutes longer.

Release

The song was notably his only single from the album not to chart in the UK. However, the single became an immediate success in the US, reaching #11 on the

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.

Track listing

* 12" (4Z9 05140) # "Innocent" – 10:34 # "Innocent (Instrumental)" – 9:54 * 7" Single (ZS4 04718) # "Innocent" – 4:43 # "Are You the One?" – 3:41

Sales chart performance

Peak positions

References

External links

* 1985 debut singles Alexander O'Neal songs Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis 1985 songs Tabu Records singles {{1980s-single-stub