"Tender Love" is a song by

Force MDs The Force M.D.'s are an American contemporary R&B, R&B vocal group that was formed in 1981 in Staten Island, New York. Although the group has old school hip hop roots, it is perhaps best known for two tunes that are widely considered 1980s quiet ...

from their second album '' Chillin'' (1985). Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the track appears in the film '' Krush Groove'' (1985), and was featured on the film's soundtrack.

Background

Although primarily known as a pre-

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

old school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contem ...

band, the Force MDs introduced themselves to a whole new audience with this song. Not only did the song reach number 4 on the R&B charts (where the group had already amassed a steady string of minor hits), but it also became a crossover hit, cracking the top ten on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in the spring of 1986, becoming the group's only single to date to break the Pop

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

. On the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart, the song peaked at number 2. The song was also a hit in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, reaching number 23 in 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 ...

Chart positions

Notable covers

"Tender Love" has been covered by numerous artists. The most widely known version was by English singer Kenny Thomas which reached number 26 on the

in 1991.

References

1985 songs 1985 singles 1980s ballads Force MDs songs Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads 1991 singles Kenny Thomas (singer) songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Tommy Boy Records singles Warner Records singles Cooltempo Records singles {{1980s-R&B-song-stub