"Please Don't Go" is a song recorded by American

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...

and released in 1979 as the second single from their sixth album, ''

Do You Wanna Go Party ''Do You Wanna Go Party'' is the sixth studio album by the funk and disco group KC and the Sunshine Band. The album was produced by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch and was released in June 1979 on the TK label. History ''Do You Wanna Go Par ...

'' (1979). Originally written in the key of D flat, the song was the band's first love

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 ...

. In the song, the subject pleads for a second chance. Shortly after the song's one-week run at number one, the group broke up and

Harry Wayne Casey Harry Wayne Casey (born January 31, 1951), better known by his stage name KC, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his band, KC and the Sunshine Band, as a producer of several hits for other art ...

went solo. The song was a number-one hit on the Australian

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, their sixth and final number-one hit in Canada on the ''RPM'' national chart as well as their fifth and final number-one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "Please Don't Go" was actually part of a double-sided single, with the flip slide "I Betcha Didn't Know That" being released to R&B stations and hitting number 25 on the R&B chart.

Original version

Chart performance

The song was the first No. 1 hit of the 1980s on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was also an international chart hit, reaching No. 1 in Australia and Canada and charting in Belgium (No. 8), West Germany (No. 20), Ireland (No. 5), the Netherlands (No. 7), New Zealand (No. 3), Norway (No. 4) and the UK (No. 3).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Double You version

Track listings

* CD maxi # "Please Don't Go" (radio mix) – 3:18 # "Please Don't Go" (club mix) – 6:14 # "Please Don't Go" (let's go mix) – 3:31 # "Please Don't Go" (a cappella) – 3:18 * 7" single # "Please Don't Go" (radio mix) – 3:18 # "Please Don't Go" (a cappella) – 3:18 * 7" single – France # "Please Don't Go" (radio mix) – 3:18 # "Please Don't Go" (let's go mix) – 3:31 * 12" maxi – Germany, Italy, Spain, US # "Please Don't Go" (club mix) – 6:14 # "Please Don't Go" (radio mix) – 3:18 # "Please Don't Go" (let's go mix) – 3:31 # "Please Don't Go" (a cappella) – 3:18 * 12" maxi – France # "Please Don't Go" (club mix) – 6:14 # "Please Don't Go" (let's go mix) – 3:31 * CD maxi / 12" maxi – Remixes # "Please Don't Go" (herbie remix) – 5:20 # "Organ Dream" – 2:15 # "Please Don't Go" (underground mix) – 4:55 # "Please Don't Go" (dub go) – 1:45 * CD maxi / 12" maxi – Techno remixes # "Please Don't Go" (U.S.-rave mix) – 6:00 # "Please Don't Go" (UK-break mix) – 5:00 # "Please Don't Go" (euro-house mix) – 4:55

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

KWS version

A sound-alike cover of

Double You Double You are an Italian Eurodance group founded in 1985 by vocalist William Naraine, keyboardist and producer Franco Amato and DJ Andrea de Antoni. By 1992, they had sold more than three million records. " Please Don't Go", a dance version of KC ...

's arrangement was released as the debut single by the British group KWS and hit number one 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 ...

for five weeks in May 1992 and reached number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in October that year. In Germany, the song reached No. 7 but disappeared out of the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

the following week due to legal issues with Double You, who covered the song before. Due to this fall, "Please Don't Go" is the song with the highest position that dropped out of the country's singles chart the following week. It was recorded and released after record company

Network Records Network Records (formed out of Kool Kat Records) was an independent record label founded in Birmingham, England, in 1988 by Neil Rushton and Dave Barker. It was instrumental in first introducing Detroit techno to a British audience, through it ...

failed to secure UK distribution rights for the Double You version. KWS band member Chris King heard the Double You version in a club in early 1992, and, bringing together the other KWS members to form the band, decided to cover it "like the Love Affair covered Robert Knight's ' Everlasting Love' or

David Parton David Parton (born David Eric Stanley Parton, 1948) is an English singer-songwriter and record producer from Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire, England. He is also known as Des Parton, based on the initials of his first three names. Career ...

covered

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

's '

Isn't She Lovely "Isn't She Lovely" is a song by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, ''Songs in the Key of Life''. The lyrics celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha Morris. Wonder collaborated on the song with Harlem songwriter and studio owner Burnetta "Bunny ...

'." The similarity between the versions resulted in Network paying compensation to Roberto Zanetti, Double You's producer, following three years of legal action. The KWS version was dedicated in honour of

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

(European football) defender

Des Walker Desmond Sinclair Walker (born 26 November 1965) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a defender. At club level he played in seven cup finals for Nottingham Forest at Wembley, winning five of them. He was Forest's play ...

, who was on the verge of signing for Italian team

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

. It was also a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with "Game Boy"; King recalled: "We wanted something new and

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

was my son's favourite games console at the time. There were various mixes on the 12-inch single with silly names like "Afternoon of the Rhino", which had been the title of a northern soul single by

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

Release

The single was picked up as a news story by a local Nottingham TV station.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

soon made it "Record of the Week" and it climbed from number 30 in the UK Singles Chart to number 9 and then in its third week to number 1, which is when the group first performed it on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. They performed it five times on the show, one week upsetting

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

by using Dressing Room 1, relegating John to Dressing Room 2. Across the song's five-week reign at the top of the UK Singles Chart, it kept SL2's " On a Ragga Tip",

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

' "

Knockin' on Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film ''Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, r ...

", Shut Up & Dance's "

Raving I'm Raving "Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...

" and

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

' "

Jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

" stalled at number 2. It was ultimately certified gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

. The same week "Please Don't Go" was withdrawn in Germany, and only seven days after the song reached the 500,000 sales mark in the UK, the

Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...

honoured KWS with a civic reception. Council chairman Gordon Young commented: "All the good work they are doing is helping to put Nottingham in a good light. We like to put on receptions for people that have achieved something. We are proud of what they have done and will wish them well for the future."

Critical reception

Joseph McCombs of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

was mixed in his assessment of the KWS cover, writing that: "The bright vocals, synth bleeps, and predictable house groove that drove 'Please Don't Go' to the top of the charts wear thin quickly."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' described the song as a "House-induced cover" and noted further that the beats "are hard enough to fill dancefloors, but are brightened by radio-friendly vocals and slick synths." In 2017, ''

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

'' listed the song at number 52 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". "It's hard to muster much love for 'Please Don’t Go' – a barely adequate trot through a good song," Tom Ewing of '' Freaky Trigger'' wrote in his 3/10 review of the cover; "It's a good example, though, of one of the nineties least-regarded, most revival-immune style, the generic dance cover version. ..'Please Don’t Go' isn't quite as deathly as the king of the dance cover version,

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

's formica take on '

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

', but it’s never memorable. That this nullity got five weeks at the top

f the UK charts F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...

says more about the immobile singles chart than any double-digit run." Ewing considers "Game Boy", the other song in the double A-side release, to be as close as the UK Singles Chart came to a

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

number one, but nonetheless concedes that: "As 'ardkore goes, it's poor, a collection of five years of weary dance tropes in search of even one good hook – Beltram-style hoover noises, house piano, cut-up vocal samples, a dubby bassline, none of them sticking around long enough to make an impact."

Track listings

* CD maxi # "Please Don't Go" (Summer Mix) – 3:40 # "Please Don't Go" (Instrumental Surf) – 6:09 # "Game Boy" – 3:23 # "Kollision" – 4:12

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Basshunter version

In 2008 "Please Don't Go" was covered by Swedish musician

Basshunter Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. Basshunter has recorded five studio albums: ''The Bassmachine'' (2004), ''LOL (Basshunter album), LOL'' (2 ...

. Idea to cover "Please Don't Go" came out from Basshunter's office. The

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song lasts two minutes and 58 seconds. It was produced by Basshunter, Robert Uhlmann and Scott Simons. "Please Don't Go" was released by

Warner Music Sweden Warner Music Sweden AB (previously Metronome Records) is a Swedish record company and label, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Metronome Records was established in 1949 by Anders Burman, Lars Burman, and Börje Ekberg and was based in Stockholm ...

on May 19, 2008. On July 14 it was released as number three on Basshunter's third studio album ''

Now You're Gone – The Album ''Now You're Gone – The Album'' is the third studio album by Swedish musician Basshunter. Released on 14 July 2008, it is his debut English language album, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one, and selling in excess of 329,717 copies in the ...

''. The song was originally planned to be released in the United Kingdom as the second single from ''

'' on June 23, 2008. However, the release was cancelled due to technical difficulties and " All I Ever Wanted" took its place on June 30. It had much more success than originally thought as the single reached number 2 in the UK charts. However, despite rumours that this would be the third single in the United Kingdom, "

Angel in the Night "Angel in the Night" is a song by Swedish musician Basshunter from his published work '' Now You're Gone – The Album''. The single was released on 15 September 2008, and was written and produced by Basshunter, Robert Uhlmann, and Scott Simons. ...

" was released instead and was premiered on

on August 22, 2008, during

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

's "Friday Floor Fillers". Priya Elan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the single as

europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

. Editor of ''

Popjustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...

'' compared "Please Don't Go" to " Now You're Gone" but with all the fun and spontaneity reduced to a joyless and attempt to quickly capitalise on its predecessor's success. In 2009 "Please Don't Go" was called number 43 of The 50 Worst Songs of the '00s by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''. Maura Johnston said that it stitches together the undeterred stomp of

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

's " Rock And Roll Part 2" and the keyboards of

L.A. Style L.A. Style was a Dutch electronic dance music group, consisting of founder, producer and radio DJ Wessel van Diepen (who later also created Nakatomi and the successful Vengaboys), composer Denzil Slemming (a.k.a. Michiel Van Der Kuy of Laser ...

's "

James Brown Is Dead "James Brown Is Dead" is a song by Dutch electronic dance music duo L.A. Style, produced by Wessel van Diepen and Denzil Slemming. It was released in August 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''L.A. Style'' (1993). The song was a m ...

". "Please Don't Go" debuted at number 39 on May 29, 2008 and after two weeks reached number six on

Swedish singles chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

. It also charted on Slovak airplay chart.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control Songs about parting 1979 songs 1979 singles 1992 debut singles 2008 singles 1970s ballads KC and the Sunshine Band songs Basshunter songs Double You songs Rhythm and blues ballads Soul ballads KWS (band) songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Spain Dutch Top 40 number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Harry Wayne Casey Songs written by Richard Finch (musician) TK Records singles ZYX Music singles Song recordings produced by Basshunter

Original version

Chart performance

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Double You version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

KWS version

Release

Critical reception

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Basshunter version

Track listing

Charts

Release history

See also

References

External links