Format 12"CD7"CS Label ChampionBig BeatZYX | Genre DanceHouse | |
Released October 13, 1990 (UK)December 21, 1992 (UK re-release)April 23, 1993 (U.S.) Length 6:45 (Montego Mix)7:43 (StoneBridge Club Mix) | ||
"Show Me Love" is a song by American singer Robin S. It was written by Allen George and Fred McFarlane and originally released in 1990 by Champion Records in the United Kingdom. In 1992, it was remixed by Swedish house music production duo StoneBridge & Nick Nice, and re-released in many European countries as well as United States and Japan. It became one of the most well known house anthems in the United Kingdom, and Robin's biggest hit to date. It helped making House more mainstream and the song is often confused with her following single "Luv 4 Luv", which is compositionally similar and was released around the same time, and with the 1997 hit "Show Me Love" by the Swedish singer Robyn.
Contents
- Background and release
- Music video
- Impact and legacy
- Track listings
- Personnel
- Sampling
- Michael Mind version
- Steve Angello and Laidback Luke version
- Track listing
- Sam Feldt version
- References
In the US, "Show Me Love" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, number seven on the R&B chart, and number one on the dance club chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and sold 600,000 copies domestically. Additionally, the song went to number six on the UK Singles Chart in April 1993. "Show Me Love" has since been sampled and interpolated in numerous recordings, including "Don't Wanna Go Home" by Jason Derulo (2011) and "Show Me" by Kid Ink (2013).
Robin S. and StoneBridge have since went on to create successful careers for themselves out of this one record.
Background and release
"Show Me Love" was written by American songwriters Allen George and Fred McFarland, who had previously worked with Jenny Burton and Jocelyn Brown. The song was initially released in 1990 on British label Champion Records with remixes by Anthony King. The singer, New York-born Robin Stonewall was a mother of two, working as a secretary for the mayor in Hempstead. In the weekends she used to sing in an R&B-band. She was offered to record this song, and then the song was released in France and Germany, but it flopped.
Two years later, in 1992, Swedish DJ and producer StoneBridge remixed the song on suggestion of British record company Champion. Stonebridge was in London and accidentally heard one of his remixes in a club. Excited by this he asked Champion if they had more songs he could remix. They told him that they had an old song called "Show Me Love" and sent it to Stonebridge. He remixed it, but Champion wasn't satisfied with the new result. Frustrated by this Stonebridge decided to change the remix again, adding an intro and several components. The result was the 1992-version of "Show Me Love". The song's iconic bass organ sound comes from the Korg M1 synthesizer; the organ patch used was simply the one immediately above the “Pick Bass” used in the original mix. It took him four hours to make it and StoneBridge had no clue what he had on his hands with the remix. A few days later he listened to it again and thought it was "pretty bad, but my girlfriend convinced me to send it off, and the rest was history." Stonebridge was paid 1 000 £ for the remix.
In the 2011 essay compilation 'The Remix Manual: The Art and Science of Dance Music Remixing with Logic' by Simon Langford, StoneBridge recalls this process:
"They said they had this failed project with a great vocal. I got the tape and did three or four mixes that they didn't like at all. In frustration, I decided to go in and do one final mix. I stripped the track to just the kick drum and vocal, changed the bass sound I had used for the latest mix and it happened to be an organ...I then found a snare drum from a record, but it had a kick in it, so it got this heavy attack that worked perfectly with the massive kick. I then put on two string chords in the chorus and put a little distorted stab thing in the intro and it was done in a little bit over four hours."
At this time, Robin S. gave birth to her third child and didn't care much about "that song". She was told that a young guy in Sweden had made a new version of the song. After hearing the new version she liked it and changed her artistname from 'Robin Stone' to 'Robin S.'. 500 12" singles without covers were made, which slowly was spread from DJ to DJ all around the world. Soon the song started to climb on the charts and when it reached 6th place on the charts in the UK, Robin S. made her first TV-appearance in British music chart television programme Top of the Pops. The remixed version was later included on Robin S.'s 1993 debut album Show Me Love.
Music video
A music video was made which sees Robin S. performing in a club. It was directed by Millicent Shelton.
Impact and legacy
The song made it to the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, a rare feat for a house song at the time. According to the The Guardian, "Show Me Love" has influenced contemporary house songs such as Kiesza's "Hideaway" (2014) and Disclosure's "White Noise" (2013), and artists such as Clean Bandit and Felix Jaehn.
Mixmag ranked it #93 in The 100 Best Dance Singles of All Time in 1996.[1]
DJ Magazine ranked it number 40 in their list of Top 100 Club Tunes in 1998.
VH1 placed "Show Me Love" at #73 in their list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs [2]
Slant Magazine ranked the song 41st in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs-list in 2006, adding:
"“Show Me Love” was not just one of the biggest house-pop crossovers of the early-'90s club-radio boom, it was also one of the last. At least radio house went out with its face on (that is, before it came back in its more Euro varieties). 1993's “Show Me Love” was as representative as any track of the way house distilled disco's flamboyant, strings-and-all yearning into a minimal thump with skeletal keyboards doing the bulk of melodic support (as defined by Swedish producer Stonebridge's remix)."
Slant Magazine also ranked the song #80 in its The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s-list in 2011.
The Guardian featured the song on their A history of modern music: Dance in 2011.
MTV Dance placed "Show Me Love" at #43 in their list of The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems Of All Time in November 2011.
Mixmag ranked it #34 in 50 Greatest Dance Tracks Of All Time in 2013 [3]
Heart TV ranked the song number 1 in their list of 55 Biggest 90's Club Classics in March 2017.
Track listings
Personnel
Sampling
Michael Mind version
In 2008, German DJ and producer Michael Mind recorded a cover version of the song using a different vocalist.
Steve Angello and Laidback Luke version
In 2008, the song was remade by Swedish DJ and producer Steve Angello and Filipino-Dutch DJ Laidback Luke. Robin S. is featured re-recording her vocals. Also featured are additional vocals from Hal Ritson (co-producer) and Yolanda Quartey. It was originally released through the Happy Music label on December 12, and has had multiple re-releases since. "Show Me Love" is one of Angello's and Luke's best known singles, especially in the United Kingdom where it has topped the UK Dance Chart in 2009.
The song was also an international breakthrough for Dutch DJ Hardwell. The song is based on his bootleg mashup of Robin S.'s "Show Me Love" and the instrumental track "Be" by Steve Angello & Laidback Luke.
Track listing
Sam Feldt version
In 2015, the song was remade by Sam Feldt featuring vocals from Kimberly Anne. It was released as a digital download on 21 June 2015 in the United Kingdom through Spinnin' Records. The song was produced by Sam Feldt.