"Sweet Thing" is a song performed by American

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 ...

and R&B band

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus Al ...

with vocals by band member

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

. As a single, it peaked number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1976.

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

recorded her version, which charted in the United States and New Zealand in 1993.

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan version

Initially recorded and released a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in late 1975, it was first a hit with

featuring

when they recorded the song in 1975, eventually reaching number-one on the R&B singles chart and number five on the pop chart. The song was co-written by Khan and Rufus bandmate Tony Maiden and became one of the band and Khan's signature songs. The record appears on the band's fourth album '' Rufus featuring Chaka Khan'' (1975). Khan re-recorded it for the 1998 soundtrack ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American Police procedural, police drama that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and ...

: A Night at Natalie's''. In 2009, ''Essence'' magazine included the song in their list of the "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time".

Track listing

"Sweet Thing"
"Circles"

Charts

Mary J. Blige version

In 1992, American singer

recorded a rendition for her debut album ''

What's the 411? ''What's the 411?'' is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean "Pu ...

'' (1992). It became Blige's third top 40 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number 28. In addition, it marked Blige's first entry on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. Blige also performed the song live on the eighteenth season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on March 13, 1993.

Critical reception

Daryl McIntosh from Albumism stated that Blige's "savory rendition" of the

song "helped provide depth to her groundbreaking album". Stanton Swihart from

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 ...

described it as "

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-thrusted", stating that songs like "Sweet Thing" "are and will remain timeless slices of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

even after their trendiness has worn off".

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 ...

'' said that the singer's version is "a faithful rendition of the

& Rufus classic. A shoulder-swaying rhythm base firmly supports an appealing, diva-style vocal and familiar

guitar chords." He added, "Watch this one glide onto pop and urban playlists within seconds." The Daily Vault's Mark Millan noted that "Sweet Thing" "is probably the most "pop" of all the songs on offer here. It's another love song and Blige softens her tone a little to keep everything sweet." Havelock Nelson from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called it "a jazzy remake".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''What's the 411?'' liner notes. *

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

* Charlie Davis – executive producer *

Mark Morales Mark Anthony Morales (February 19, 1968 – February 18, 2021), better known by the stage name Prince Markie Dee, was an American rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, and radio personality. Morales was a member of the Fat Boys, a pioneering hi ...

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* Mark C. Rooney – producer * Kurt Woodley – executive producer

Track listing

US cassette/7" vinyl single # "Sweet Thing" – 3:44 # "Slow Down" – 4:30 US CD promo # "Sweet Thing" (live) – 3:45 # "Sweet Thing" (album version) – 3:44 # "Sweet Thing" (TV) – 4:45 US 12" vinyl promo Side one # "Sweet Thing" (live version) – 3:45 # "Sweet Thing" (album version) – 3:44 Side two # "Sweet Thing" (Daddy Hip Hop) – 5:05 # "Sweet Thing" (Daddy Hip Hop TV) – 4:45

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

In 1997, contemporary jazz

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Boney James Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist (tenor, alto and soprano), songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 an ...

did another remake of the song; it was included on the album titled '' Sweet Thing''. The album's title track included background vocals by original co-writer Tony Maiden. UK soul singer

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

has also recorded a version of the song. Knight's version was recorded for a

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

session and was included as the B-side to her 2004 single "

Not Too Late for Love "Not Too Late for Love" is the second single from Beverley Knight's fourth studio album, ''Affirmation (Beverley Knight album), Affirmation''. The single reached number 11 in the airplay chart and peaked at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. At ...

". Due to the popularity of Knight's version with her fans, it was later included on her '' Voice - The Best of Beverley Knight'' (2006) compilation. Knight has since been invited to perform the song at Khan's

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

date on her UK tour, after collaborating with the singer on her Blige duet "Disrespectful" at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Filipina pop/RnB singer Nina also performed her own version of this song, which served as the opening track of her 2005 mega hit album Nina Live, which was recorded live and eventually received a diamond certification for selling over 1 million copies in the Philippines

References

{{Authority control 1975 singles 1976 singles 1993 singles Chaka Khan songs Mary J. Blige songs Songs written by Chaka Khan 1975 songs ABC Records singles MCA Records singles Rhythm and blues ballads Soul ballads 1970s ballads