"Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" is a

romantic ballad Latin ballad ( es, balada romántica) is a sentimental ballad derived from bolero that originated in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California and Southern California. Some of the best known artists of the Latin ballad are Julio Iglesias, Moceda ...

written by lyricist

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

with

Michael Masser Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...

and recorded by

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

for their 1983 album of

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

s, '' Born to Love'', issued as the lead single. The track—produced by Masser—became a million-selling international hit.

Overview

"Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" was one of two Michael Masser/ Gerry Goffin co-writes produced by Masser for the ''Born to Love'' album. Although the ''Born to Love'' sessions marked the first time either Peabo Bryson or Roberta Flack had been produced by Masser, Flack had previously recorded two Masser/ Goffin co-writes: "Independent Man" (album ''

''/ 1978) and "Stay With Me" (album ''

Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway ''Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack. Released via Atlantic in March 1980, the album features posthumous vocals by close friend and collaborator Donny Hathaway, who had ...

''/ 1980): also Masser's Ron Miller co-write "After You" was featured on Flack's 1977 album ''

Blue Lights in the Basement ''Blue Lights in the Basement'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Roberta Flack released by Atlantic on December 13, 1977. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming her third to ...

''. Flack's first recording of a Gerry Goffin composition had been a remake of his earliest evocation of nocturnal intimacy, Flack's version of

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

' classic—co-written with

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

—"

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

"—featured on the 1971 album '' Quiet Fire''—in fact becoming Flack's first solo single to appear on the

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 ''

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 ...

'' magazine also serving as Flack's solo debut on ''Billboard''s

R&B chart 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 p ...

(Flack had previously reached both the Hot 100 and R&B charts with two duet singles with

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

). Despite Flack having recorded three of Masser's compositions, the singer would recall that when Masser previewed "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" for her, it was with the advisement that he hoped to place the song, rejected by

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

for

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

, with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

:(Roberta Flack quote:)" utI told him I think I can sing that." Flack brought Bryson over to Masser's house for the composer to preview "Tonight, I Celebrate..." for Bryson who would recall (Peabo Bryson quote:) "Even though it's a great song, I

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

didn't ppreciateit was" since "Michael's not the greatest singer in the world...I only

greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...

to do it because Roberta really wanted to butafter the first take in the studio I got he song's appealtoo." The second Masser/ Goffin co-write on ''Born to Love'': "Comin' Alive", described by Masser as "an uptempo synthesized song", was considered by Masser for single release rather than "Tonight, I Celebrate...": (Michael Masser quote:) "but I just felt that there are people out there who want to be touched by a romantic acoustic ballad...Each year, through whatever else is the particular fashion or mode, there are always great ballads that break through." Bryson and Flack had previously appeared on the R&B chart in ''Billboard'' with two duet singles: "Make the World Stand Still" and "Love is a Waiting Game", both from their collaborative 1980 '' Live & More'' double album. However, "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" would be the first Bryson/ Flack duet single to rank on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: with a Hot 100 peak of #16 in November 1983: "Tonight, I Celebrate..." would also rank on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart (#5) and on the magazine's

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 (#4). In the UK, "Tonight, I Celebrate..." would peak at #2 in September 1983, affording both Bryson and Flack their alltime best UK chart showing. "Tonight, I Celebrate..." was afforded further international success charting in Australia (#10), Canada (#4), Finland (#13), Flemish Belgium (#8), Ireland (#5), the Netherlands (#16), New Zealand (#11), Norway (#8), and South Africa (#4). A promotional

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

—Flack's video debut—was prepped for "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love". Directed by Martin Pitts, the video was a straightforward performance video showing Flack and Bryson singing the song—she playing the piano and he seated on a stool at her side—while session musicians may be seen in the background: the clip was taped at the

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

in Hollywood, the ''Born to Love'' album being recorded for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

—Bryson's home label—with Flack on loan from

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

(the track "Tonight, I Celebrate..." was in fact recorded at

A&M Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serve ...

with

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national t ...

on piano: Flack did not play piano on any tracks on ''Born to Love''). "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" would be the only

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 ...

hit duet for Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack as the only subsequent single from ''Born to Love'' to chart on the Hot 100: "You're Looking Like Love to Me", peaked at #58. "Tonight, I Celebrate..." would also be the only major hit duet for Bryson and Flack in the UK where "Heaven Above Me" was issued as the follow-up single to chart no higher than #84. Bryson's only solo hit single after "Tonight, I Celebrate..." would be the Michael Masser co-write "

If Ever You're in My Arms Again "If Ever You're in My Arms Again" is a 1984 song recorded by American contemporary R&B singer Peabo Bryson. Released as a single from his album '' Straight from the Heart'', the single peaked at number 6 on the R&B chart and was Bryson's first T ...

" which peaked at #10, his only solo top 40 hit. Bryson would however score two more top 10 hit duets in 1991 and 1992, with "

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

" and "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as t ...

" respectively; the latter a number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Personnel

* Roberta Flack – vocals * Peabo Bryson – vocals *

–

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, acoustic piano * Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums *

– rhythm arrangements *

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

– orchestration, rhythm arrangements

Critical reception

''The Telegraph'' listed the song as one of the "50 best love songs of the 1980s", writing "Mmm! Dig those tinkly Eighties keyboards. Almost tasteful, considering its schlockbusting potential." The song is, according to ''The Telegraph'', Roberta Flack's favourite song from her 1980s repertoire. ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

'' describes it as a "big romantic ballad."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

During the 1980's, the song was the love theme for

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

super couple,

Bo Brady and Hope Williams Beauregard "Bo" Brady and Hope Williams Brady are fictional characters and the signature supercouple on the American daytime drama ''Days of Our Lives''. Bo is portrayed by Peter Reckell and Hope is portrayed by Kristian Alfonso. On internet me ...

. In 2005, it was used in a commercial for the M-Azing candy bar.M'azing - Cabin (2005, USA)
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References

{{Authority control 1983 singles Roberta Flack songs Peabo Bryson songs Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Songs written by Michael Masser Male–female vocal duets Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads 1983 songs Capitol Records singles Quiet storm songs 1980s ballads