"Slow Hand" is a song recorded by American
vocal group
A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s.
Types
Vocal groups can come in s ...
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
for their eighth studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
''
Black & White'' (1981). The song, written by Michael Clark and
John Bettis
John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...
, was released by the
Planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
label in May 1981 as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from ''Black & White''.
Background and impact
Although its sultry style recalls the Pointer Sisters' first American top-ten hit, the 1978 number two hit "
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
", "Slow Hand" was not written for the group; in fact
John Bettis
John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...
would state "the Pointer Sisters were the furthest
ctfrom
he composers'minds." However producer
Richard Perry
Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...
(Richard Perry quote:)"knew 'Slow Hand'
ould be Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames.
Notable p ...
an instant smash
itspan style="font-size:50%">...that
...would recapitulate and expand on the intimacy
f'Fire'." Like "Fire"—which also featured
Anita Pointer
Anita Marie Pointer (January 23, 1948December 31, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song "Fairytale", which garnere ...
on lead—"Slow Hand" peaked at number two on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, for 3 weeks, behind "
Endless Love" by
Diana Ross and
Lionel Richie. "Slow Hand" reached that position in August 1981 when it also reached number seven 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. In September 1981, the single was certified
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
by the
RIAA. "Slow Hand" also afforded the Pointer Sisters international success, including the first appearance by the group in the top-ten 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 ...
. "Slow Hand" was ranked in the top 25 best singles of the year by ''The Village Voice''
Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...
poll.
Personnel
The Pointer Sisters
*
Anita Pointer
Anita Marie Pointer (January 23, 1948December 31, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song "Fairytale", which garnere ...
– lead vocals
*
June Pointer
June Antoinette Pointer (November 30, 1953 – April 11, 2006) was an American singer, best known as the youngest of the founding members of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters.
Early life and career
Born the youngest of six children to minister ...
– backing vocals
*
Ruth Pointer
Ruth Esther Pointer (born March 19, 1946) is an American singer–songwriter who is best known as the eldest member of the American family vocal group the Pointer Sisters.
Career
Joining her sisters in 1972, the Pointer Sisters released their f ...
– backing vocals
Musicians
* John Barnes – electric piano
*
William "Smitty" Smith
William Daniel "Smitty" Smith (August 30, 1944 – November 28, 1997) was a Canadian keyboardist and session musician. Background
He had been playing together with Steve Kennedy, Eric Mercury, Eric "Mouse" Johnson, Terry Logan and Diane Brooks ...
–
organ
*
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar
* Tim May – guitar
*
Nathan Watts
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
*Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
* Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...
– bass
*
John Robinson – drums
*
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Del Reeves version
The song was covered in 1981 by country singer
Del Reeves
Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1933 – January 1, 2007) was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also know ...
, whose version peaked at #53 on the
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...
chart.
Conway Twitty version
The song was covered in April 1982 by country singer
Conway Twitty with minor lyric changes to accommodate a heterosexual male singer. His version, on
Elektra Records, topped the ''
Billboard''
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...
chart for two weeks that June, and was his last multi-week number-one song.
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
1981 singles
1982 singles
The Pointer Sisters songs
Conway Twitty songs
Del Reeves songs
Songs with lyrics by John Bettis
Songs written by Michael Clark (songwriter)
Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen
Song recordings produced by Richard Perry
Elektra Records singles
1981 songs
Planet Records singles