Released 1976 Genre R&B | Recorded 1975 | |
Writer(s) Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley and Ronald Isley & Chris Jasper |
"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by The Isley Brothers, originally a radio hit in 1976. It was originally dedicated to their mother.
Contents
Personnel
Aaliyah version
Eighteen years later, the song was revived by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. Released as the album's second single, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the R&B singles chart, also reaching number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was certified gold single by RIAA on October 25, 1994. In 2010 Canadian rapper Drake sampled Aaliyah's version of the song in his song "Unforgettable"; four years later singer Tamar Braxton sampled this song for her single "Let Me Know" featuring Future.
Remix
The song became a hit based on remix versions Aaliyah cut with R. Kelly featured on the song chanting "this is for the steppers" and earlier saying, "1-2, check up, baby, lemme know what's up" before Aaliyah began singing.
Music video
The music video was shot back to back with R. Kelly's "Summer Bunnies" and were both smash hits in fall 1994. The music video was directed by Millicent Shelton. The music video is for the remix not the original and R. Kelly, who produced the songs, is in the video.
Personnel
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "At Your Best (You Are Love)".
- "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (LP mix) – 4:43
- "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangsta Child Remix) – 4:30
- "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05
- "Back & Forth" (Ms. Mello Remix) – 3:50
Other versions
In the Philippines, it was covered by two artists: MYMP on their album Versions and Nina from her love songs live album Nina Live!. Drake recently made a song with Young Jeezy called "Unforgettable" using the same beat. Swedish artist El Perro Del Mar covered the song in 2009 as a special Record Store Day release as well. Tamar Braxton sampled the song in her single with Future, "Let Me Know".
In 2015, Frank Ocean released a cover on his Tumblr account as a tribute to Aaliyah, one day after what would have been her 36th birthday. A slightly different version was also included on his visual album Endless