"Passion" is a song by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

that first appeared in 1980 on his album ''

Foolish Behaviour '' Foolish Behaviour '' is Rod Stewart's tenth studio album, released on 21 November 1980 on the Riva label in the United Kingdom (RVLP 11) and on Warner Bros. Records in both The United States (HS 3485) and Germany (WB 56 865). The tracks we ...

''. It was the lead single and biggest hit from the album. The song was also released as a 12-inch promotional single with an extended running time of 7:30.

Background

"Passion" describes the ubiquity of the phenomenon, delineating its universality by listing many of the people, places, and situations in which it is found. Passion is described as a powerful but dangerous essential motivator, being so compelling that it is prone to sometimes break outside the boundaries of loving relationships. 'Hear it on the radio' and 'read it in the papers' speaks of the potentially disruptive power of unleashed desire.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that ". This up-tempo number has strong pop orchestration effectively pitted against Stewart's throaty vocals" and that the song has a "catchy" hook. ''Record World'' said that the song has "menacing guitar runs, percussion fever & tewart'svocal parchment."

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals * Jim Cregan – guitar * Gary Grainger – guitar *

Phil Chen Phillip David Chen (21 October 1946 – 14 December 2021) was a Jamaican bassist. He was one of England's most utilized session bassists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Jeff Beck, and the Rod Stewart band from 1977 to 1980, but is prob ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Kevin Savigar –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s * Carmine Appice –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Roland CR-78 The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by later standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time, in particular by allowing users to program and store thei ...

programming * Paulinho da Costa - percussion

Chart performance

The song reached number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two in Canada. It was also a sizeable hit across Europe.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Popular culture

*"Passion" was prominently featured in the 1984 drama film ''New York Nights'' (later known as ''Shackin' Up'').

References

1980 singles 1980 songs Rod Stewart songs Songs written by Rod Stewart Warner Records singles Songs written by Kevin Savigar Number-one singles in South Africa {{1980s-single-stub