Released October 1971 Recorded 1971 Length 5:08 | Format 7" Genre R&B, soul | |
B-side "Yes I'm Ready (If I Don't Get To Go)" | ||
"Have You Seen Her" is a song recorded by the soul vocal group, The Chi-Lites, and released on Brunswick Records in 1971. Composed by the lead singer Eugene Record and Barbara Acklin, the song was included on the group's 1971 album (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People.
Song
The Chi-Lites recorded "Have You Seen Her" in a style owing much to the doo-wop traditions of the late 1950s, after the success of another such song earlier in the year, The Temptations' "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)." The song begins and ends with a narrator remarking on how he was once happy with a woman; however, she left him, so he passes the days by partaking in leisurely activities. However, much to the dismay of the narrator, the woman does not return, or attempt to communicate with him as he had hoped. The narrator ends the song by musing on how foolish he was for believing the woman of his dreams would always be around. Some radio edits have omitted the spoken dialogue for just the singing portions. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top of the Billboard R&B Singles chart in November 1971. It also reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1972. The most significant cover of "Have You Seen Her" was recorded by MC Hammer, for his successful 1990 LP, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em, which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the UK Singles Chart. The Barron Knights produced a parody version.
Patrick Simmons (of The Doobie Brothers) recorded a cover version on his 1983 solo album Arcade.
X Factor series 2 contestant Maria Lawson used a sample of the song for her 2006 debut single "Sleepwalking".
In 2013, voice actors Rob Paulsen and John DiMaggio performed a short parody version mocking the Anthony Weiner Scandal. They incorrectly attributed the song to The Stylistics.
The song in its original recording by The Chi-Lites was included in the 2001 Clear Channel memorandum list released by Clear Channel Communications after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, probably because at the light of the attacks the song lyrics could sound sensitive to the family of the victims, implying the girl could have died.