B-side "Slowdown Sundown" Format 7", 12" maxi single Length 4:05 | Released October 1982 Recorded November 1981 Label Island | |
"Valerie" is a song written by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings and originally recorded by Winwood for his third solo album, Talking Back to the Night, in 1982.
Contents
Background
The song deals with a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday. Will Jennings reportedly wrote the lyrics while thinking about singer Valerie Carter, whose career was declining because of drugs. On its original release, the single reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
In 1987, a remix by Tom Lord-Alge was included as a single from Winwood's compilation album Chronicles. The remixed version of "Valerie" climbed to number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1987, and also reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. Both versions also reached #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
DJ Falcon recalled in an interview that he and Thomas Bangalter, as a duo called Together, had sampled "Valerie" to create a simple loop that they used in DJ sets. Falcon added that the duo had no intention of releasing it as a single, despite demand from various outlets.
Eric Prydz later sampled "Valerie" in 2004 for a house music track and presented it to Winwood, who was so impressed with what Prydz had done, he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track. It was released as "Call on Me" that same year. "Call on Me" was, in turn, sampled in 2009's "Pass Out" from Chris Brown (featuring Eva Simons) on his Graffiti album, also co-produced by Prydz.
In 2012, "Valerie" was covered by American indie rock band Ra Ra Riot with Delicate Steve.
Track listing
1982 single:
1987 7" inch single:
1987 12"/CD single: