"The Right Kinda Lover" is a song by American singer and actress

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

. It was written by Ann Bennett-Nesby, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, and James "Big Jim" Wright, while production was helmed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, with Wright as co-producing. The song was released as the first single from her LaBelle's 12th album, '' Gems'' (1994), and appeared on the soundtrack to the 1994 film '' Beverly Hills Cop III'', starring

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

. In the United States, "The Right Kinda Lover" reached number 61 on the '' ''Billboard'' Hot 100'' and number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It also became LaBelle's second number one on the

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

. Overseas, the single also reached number fifty on the UK Singles Chart. The song's video featured LaBelle performing as a seductress choosing her choice of mate.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' wrote, "At age 50, the divine Ms. LaBelle puts out more verve and energy than a lot of performers half her age. The juicy

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 ...

throwdown is featured on her new album, '' Gems'', as well as the soundtrack to '' Beverly Hills Cop III'', and is ripe for picking by R&B,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, and club programmers. Producers

Jam and Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

surround LaBelle's distinctive voice with phat, rugged grooves and a lively, synth-activated melody. Fab single's bright future is sealed with an array of remixes that range from street hip hop to hearty

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

." Troy J. Augusto from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a funkified, boisterous cut that will no doubt find the lady back at the top of many formats' charts. Contemporary without sounding forced, courtesy of golden egg production team .. and sophisticated without sounding stuffy, it’s a song that promises to provide many happy summertime memories." Bill Speed and John Martinucci from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' declared it "a midtempoed groove that gets your body shaking while singing the praises of finding Mr. Right." Andy Beevers from '' Music Week'' gave the song four out of five, adding that the remixes "work very well and will help soul stalwart Labelle reach some new audiences."

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Gems''. * Ann Bennett-Nesby – writer * James Harris III – producer, writer *

– executive producer * Terry Lewis – producer, writer *Jimmy Wright – co-producer, writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Right Kinda Lover 1993 songs 1994 singles MCA Records singles Patti LaBelle songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Songs written by Ann Nesby Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Songs written by Big Jim Wright