B-side "Be Mine, Girl" Format CD single, 7", 12" Genre R&B, soul, quiet storm | Released December 5, 1985 Recorded 1985 | |
Length 3:56 (album version)
4:19 (alternate single version) | ||
"Tender Love" is a song by Force MDs. Written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the tune appeared in the 1985 film Krush Groove and was featured on the film's soundtrack. It also appeared on the group's second album Chillin'.
Although primarily known as a pre-new jack swing/old school hip hop band, the Force MDs introduced themselves to a whole new audience with this song. Not only did the song peak at number 4 on the R&B charts (where the group had already amassed a steady string of minor hits), but it also became a crossover hit, cracking the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1986, becoming the group's only single to date to break the Pop top 40. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song peaked at #2. The song was also a hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #23 in the UK Singles Chart. The tune was a major contributing factor to Jam & Lewis' winning a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 1986.
Samples/Covers
"Tender Love" has since been sampled by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony on their 1996 hit "Dayz of our Lives" and by 2 Much on their 2007 song "Hard Time" (later covered by Korean group Shinee). Rapper Trina sampled the song on her 2005 hit "Here We Go" on her album Glamorest Life. In addition, the tune has been covered in the studio by Jordan Knight, Usher, and Uncle Sam and in live performances by artists such as Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Marsha Ambrosius, Kelly Rowland, and Marques Houston.