Released December 21, 1991 | Length 3:27 | |
B-side "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" Format Cassette, CD single, CD maxi, 7" single Recorded 1991 Rumbo Recorders, Canoga Park, CACherokee Studios, Hollywood, CA Genre Soft rock, acoustic rock, glam metal | ||
"To Be with You" is a soft rock song by American hard rock band Mr. Big. It was released in late 1991 as the second single from their second album, Lean into It. The song first charted on December 21, 1991, appearing in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It rose in the charts in over 20 countries, reaching number one in the U.S. It also reached a peak of number three in the UK.
Contents
Background and writing
The song was written and composed by Eric Martin during his teen years, with guitarist Paul Gilbert contributing to its melodic arrangements later on. Writing credit is also given to David Grahame, a songwriter working for the label at the time.
While in Gilbert's apartment at Yucca Street in L.A., he and Martin were laying out their compositions. Martin had a ballad called "To Be With You". Gilbert had his psychedelic rock song called "Green Tinted Sixties Mind". Both felt the two songs were strong enough to be included in their upcoming album, despite it being purely rock; and true enough, these songs remained throughout the course of their career as a group and as solo artists.
Content
"To Be With You" is about a man who has his eye on a woman who has recently experienced a broken heart from a previous relationship. When Martin was a sophomore in high school, he was friends with his older sister's friend (who was a senior). She would give him rides to school and tell him about all the boy problems she had. Martin had a huge crush on her, but didn't tell her since he knew a senior would never go out with a sophomore. Martin wrote this song about her.
Music video
The music video was directed by Nancy Bennett and features the band performing in a railroad car. The video changes from black & white to color around the halfway mark.
Personnel
Formats and track listings
- "To Be with You" (LP Version) (3:27)
- "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (LP Version) (3:30)
- "To Be with You"
- "A Little Too Loose" (Live)
- "The Drill Song (Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy)" (Live)
- "Alive And Kickin'" (Live)
- "To Be with You" (3:27)
- "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (3:30)
- "Alive And Kickin'" (5:28)