Released 1984 Label Jive | Genre Post-disco | |
B-side "Caribbean Queen (Instrumental)" Length 7:52 (album version)
4:06 (single version) Writer(s) Billy Ocean
Keith Diamond | ||
"Caribbean Queen" is a song by English singer Billy Ocean. Co-written and produced by Keith Diamond, it climbed to number-one on both the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Black Singles chart chart, and number six in the UK Singles Chart. The song won Ocean the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, making him the first British artist to win in that category.
The saxophone solo is played by Vernon Jeffrey Smith.
History
The song was recorded under different titles for different parts of the world—resulting in versions such as "European Queen" and "African Queen". In the US, the song was released under the title "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on The Run)". It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 on the chart dated 11 August 1984. It hit number one ten weeks later and stayed at the top of the chart for two consecutive weeks. The songs charted for 26 weeks.
In 2004, the song was re-released as a digital single for its 20th anniversary, shooting up to no. 25 on the Billboard digital singles chart and garnering radio play across the US and UK.
In 1985, Melba Moore recorded an "answer song" on her album Read My Lips entitled "King of My Heart".
The song was also featured in the Miami Vice episode "Prodigal Son" from season 2.
An instrumental version of "Caribbean Queen" was used during the starting lineup for CBS' telecast of the 1986 Daytona 500.