"If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by

Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known a ...

, and recorded by the Philadelphia soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. It became their first hit after being released as a single in September 1972, topping the US R&B chart and peaking at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "If You Don't Know Me by Now" was originally written for Labelle (a trio led by

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 ...

) but they never recorded it. The song's composers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff gave it to Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which featured

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

as lead vocalist, and the actual background vocals done by producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Carl Helm, and

Bunny Sigler Walter "Bunny" Sigler (March 27, 1941 – October 6, 2017) was an American R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer who did extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and was instrumental in creating ...

. In addition to the single release, the track was included on their debut album '' I Miss You''.

later made the song part of her concert repertoire in 1982; a live version appears on her 1985 album, ''Patti''. "If You Don't Know Me by Now" has since been recorded by a number of other artists, most notably the English pop and soul band

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since t ...

, who took their version to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1989. The song "If You Don’t Know Me By Now" was chosen as one of the " Songs of the Century" by the RIAA.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Simply Red version

Simply Red's version of "If You Don't Know Me by Now" was a major commercial success on the charts in 1989, giving the band their second US number one (also topping 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), and peaking at number 38 on the

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. This version also won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for the Best R&B Song of 1989. The track was also a number-one hit in Australia and New Zealand; in the latter country, it was the best-selling single of 1989. It reached number 2 in the UK, becoming the band's second top-10 hit after the re-issue of "

Holding Back the Years "Holding Back the Years" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released as the third single from their debut studio album, ''Picture Book'' (1985). It reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the UK Sing ...

" in 1986, which also reached number 2. According to the producer Stewart Levine, he didn't want too much orchestration on the record, and went with a two-part harmony instead of a three-part harmony. Mick Hucknall admitted he loved Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' version, and stated he danced to their music when he was 13. This version can be heard in the films ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'' (2000) and

Class Action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

(1991) and appears in the game '' Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol''. It is also available to download for the Xbox 360 game '' Lips'', which contains the music video.

Track listings

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...

# "If You Don't Know Me by Now" – 3:23 # "Move on Out" (recorded Live Manchester on February 22, 1989) – 5:18 * 12-inch single # "If You Don't Know Me by Now" – 3:23 # "Move on Out" (recorded live Manchester on February 22, 1989) – 5:18 # "Shine" (recorded live Manchester on February 22, 1989) – 3:30 * 3-inch CD single # "If You Don't Know Me by Now" – 3:23 # "Move on Out" (recorded live Manchester on February 22, 1989) – 5:18 # "Shine" (recorded live Manchester on February 22, 1989) – 3:30 # "Sugar Daddy" – 3:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

*In 1976, Jamaican reggae band Zap Pow released a version in the UK on

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

*The musician Seal recorded the song for his 2008 album ''

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 ...

''. In April 2009, it became his first Top 10

hit since "

Love's Divine "Love's Divine" is a song by Seal. It was released as the second single from his fourth studio album ''Seal IV''. The official music video was directed by Sanji and marks the first occasion that Ukrainian model and actress Olga Kurylenko appears ...

" in 2004.Chart Beat
Billboard.com, April 15, 2009. He was also subsequently nominated for the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. * ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known as ''TVOH'', is a Dutch reality TV singing competition, that became a near global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol and musician Roel van Velzen, in the Netherlands airing on RTL 4. ...

'' contestant Ben Saunders performed the song for the 2010-11 competition. His recorded version went straight to number one in the Netherlands. *A comedic cover version by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' ...

, in character as David Brent, appeared in the 2003 christmas special of the British comedy series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'' *

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and rel ...

recorded for her 2014 album '' Everlasting.''

References

External links

* Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes version song reviewon

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

* {{authority control 1972 singles 1989 singles Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes songs Simply Red songs Patti LaBelle songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Leon Huff Philadelphia International Records singles Elektra Records singles 1972 songs 1989 songs Black-and-white music videos Rhythm and blues ballads Soul ballads Songs written by Kenny Gamble 1970s ballads

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Simply Red version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

See also

References

External links