"I'm Going Down" is a song written and produced by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Mo ...

, and performed by American

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 att ...

and R&B group Rose Royce in 1976. It is from the film '' Car Wash'' and is featured on its soundtrack. In 1994, it was covered by American singer Mary J. Blige.

Rose Royce version

The Rose Royce (original) version received moderate success. It peaked at number seventy on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number ten on the R&B singles chart. In the film '' Car Wash'', the song serves as a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, as it complements the screen time of Maureen, a forlorn

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

who desperately seeks a chance at true love with Joe, even as she turns tricks.

Charts

Mary J. Blige version

In 1994, American R&B singer artist Mary J. Blige covered "I'm Going Down", titled "I'm Goin' Down", for her second studio album, '' My Life'' (1994). Her version was produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs and Chucky Thompson. Released as the album's second single, Blige's version peaked at number thirteen on the US

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 and number twenty-two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In mid-1995, Blige released a remix featuring

Mr. Cheeks Terrance Kelly (born March 28, 1971), known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is an American rapper best known for his work with the musical group Lost Boyz, and as a solo artist with the single " Lights, Camera, Action!". Biography 1991–2019: ...

The Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “K ...

featuring co-production from "Prince" Charles Alexander and Mark "Led" Ledford, and contains portions of " The What" (1994) by American rappers

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half o ...

. "I'm Going Down" is frequently performed at many of Blige's concerts and as well as live sets.

Critical reception

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

noted in his weekly UK chart commentary, that Blige "sparkles" on "a rather fabulous cover" of the old Rose Royce song. James Hamilton from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update described it as a "exceptional ultra soulful sparse dramatic 61.7bpm Rose Royce remake in authentic mid-Sixties slow Stax/Volt type".

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for Blige's "I'm Goin' Down" was directed from January 14–15, 1995 by Matthew Rolston and was shot in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

, with Blige as a lounge singer performing the song in a club, and wearing an-all black suit with a matching hat, walking downstairs (being duplicated over and over again). In the end, the bar patrons applaud her as she walks offstage. The video was later published on Blige's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel in December 2009. It has amassed more than 22.3 million views as of September 2021.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''My Life'' liner notes. *Mary J. Blige – vocals * "Prince" Charles Alexander – tenor saxophone, piccolo flute, additional flute, recording engineer, mixing * Mark "Led" Ledford – trumpet *Bruce Purse - trumpet *Vincent Henry - alto saxophone * Paul Pesco – guitar * Lenny Underwood – piano *

Fred McFarlane Frederick Craig McFarlane (November 14, 1959 – September 3, 2016) was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. McFarlane's career as a songwriter and producer spanned more than 30 years. He wrote or co-wrote a nu ...

- additional keyboards * Regina Carter - violin *Diane Monroe - violin *Lesa Terry - violin *Eileen Folson - cello *Victor Bailey - bass played by *Gloria Agostini - harp *Kevin "K-Dog" Johnson - drums *Frank Colon - percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

" Oh, Boy" off of

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

's third album '' Come Home with Me'' samples the original Rose Royce song.

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

also sampled the song in her 2002 album '' Charmbracelet'' for the song " Boy (I Need You)". Both songs were composed by hip-hop producer Justin "Just Blaze" Smith and are almost identical. On the episode season 3 finale of '' Sister, Sister,'' Tamera (

Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite h ...

) covered the song for a talent show, winning a bet that her sister Tia ( Tia Mowry) had with her enemy—and Tamera's opponent, Marva. *Marcus Canty performed this song on season one of

The X Factor (U.S.) ''The X Factor'' is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, which aired on Fox. Based on t ...

during "Movie Week" and the elimination. * Megan Hilty performs the song in the "Tech" episode of Smash *Sera Hill performed the song in "Episode 5: The Blind Auditions, Part 5" episode of

The Voice (U.S. season 2) The second season of the American reality talent show ''The Voice'' premiered on NBC on February 5, 2012, in the 10 p.m. ET slot immediately following coverage of Super Bowl XLVI. The first promo aired on NBC on Saturday, October 8, 2011, during ...

*In the movie '' Little'', Jordan and April perform the Mary J. Blige version of the song inside an upscale restaurant, with (13-year old) Jordan starting the performance while laying on a bar. *Paige Thomas performed this song as her audition for the second season of

*Taylor Beckham performed this song on "Episode 3: The Blind Auditions, Part 3" of

The Voice (U.S. season 4) The fourth season of the American reality talent show ''The Voice'' premiered on March 25, 2013, on NBC and was hosted by Carson Daly, while Christina Milian returned as the social media correspondent. Coaches Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton returne ...

References

{{authority control 1976 songs 1977 singles 1995 singles Rose Royce songs Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Songs written by Norman Whitfield Soul ballads Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield Whitfield Records singles MCA Records singles Uptown Records singles Black-and-white music videos Torch songs Songs about heartache Rhythm and blues ballads 1970s ballads