"Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" is a

romantic ballad Latin ballad () 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, Mocedades, José Luis Rod ...

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 US No.1 hits " Will You L ...

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 hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

and

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

for their 1983 album of

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

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" (1978 album ''

'') and "Stay With Me" (1980 album '' Roberta Flack Featuring Donny Hathaway''): also Masser's Ron Miller co-write "After You" was featured on Flack's 1977 album '' Blue Lights in the Basement''. 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 McF ...

' classic—co-written with

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

—"

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, also known as simply the 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), o ...

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 advertis ...

'' 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 ...

(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, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

). 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 RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

for

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, with

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

:(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, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...

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

greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

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 Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

—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 is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...

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

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

—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 the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

(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 La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served as C ...

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. Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national tour with Bette Midler in ...

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 a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

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" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

" and "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin (1992 Disney film), ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers B ...

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

Personnel

* Roberta Flack – vocals * Peabo Bryson – vocals *

– keyboards *

Paul Jackson Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American Jazz fusion, fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. In addition to being a recording artist in his own right, Jackson is also a session player, with a career ...

– guitar *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist 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 ...

– bass * Carlos Vega – 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 1980s, 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 aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' supercouple, Bo Brady and Hope Williams. In 2005, it was used in a commercial for the M-Azing candy bar.

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 1980s ballads