Released October 1992 Length 4:09 Writer(s) Dan Pritzker | Genre Soul Label Festival
Chameleon | |
Producer(s) Daniel Laszlo
Dan Pritzker | ||
"You Don't Treat Me No Good" is a song recorded by the American soul group Sonia Dada. Released in 1992, the song was a number-one hit in Australia, spending four weeks at the top of the ARIA Charts. Eighteen years later, country music singer Jerrod Niemann released a cover version under the title "Lover, Lover", and his version reached number one on the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart.
Contents
History
Glenn A. Baker of Billboard magazine described the song's chart success as "the most unexpected[…]breakout in the Australian market for many years." He also cited it as an example of the label's success with breaking new acts outside their home markets. SAFM in Adelaide was among the first stations to play the song.
Critical reception
Joe Rassenfoss of the Rocky Mountain News, in his review of the album, called the song a "catchy vocal entreaty."
Chart performance
"You Don't Treat Me No Good" debuted at number 38 on the Australian ARIA Charts dated for November 29, 1992. After spending six weeks in the number two position behind Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You," the song reached a peak of number one on the chart dated for the week ending February 28, 1993. It held that position for four weeks and fell to number four on the chart dated for March 28. It was also ranked number three on the ARIA year-end chart. Although the song did not chart in the United States, the self-titled album from which it was taken sold more than 100,000 copies in the United States after its release in 1992.
Versions
Jerrod Niemann version
On March 1, 2010, American country music artist Jerrod Niemann released a cover version of this song under the title "Lover, Lover". It was Niemann's first release on the Sea Gayle label, a sister label of Arista Nashville, as well as his fourth single release overall. It is included on his album Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury, which was released in July 2010, as well as the thirty-fifth edition of Now That's What I Call Music!
History
Niemann's recording of the song features nine vocal tracks, all of which he recorded himself and then overdubbed. He recorded eight of the vocal tracks in one day and recorded the bass backing vocals the next day. Niemann once explained that his voice was hoarse from recording the eight vocal parts and was unable to record the bass vocal. He and a friend then visited the Nashville tavern Tin Roof, which is near the studio where the song was recorded, after Niemann recalled upon several occasions where the Tin Roof bartender would serve Niemann excessive doses of whiskey resulting in Niemann awakening in the morning after with an extremely low voice. With this in mind, Niemann "medicated" his vocal cords by having the Tin Roof bartender serve him Jack Daniels whiskey nonstop for approximately six hours that night and then returned to the studio the next morning to record the bass vocal.
Content
The song is in the key of G Major, at a moderate tempo, based around a two-measure riff played on acoustic guitar. No full chords are played in the song, although the second measure of the riff includes an open fifth consisting of C and G.
Critical reception
Writing for the CMT blog, Whitney Self said that Niemann "gives the tune a new feel with his contagious beats and acoustic guitar." Bobby Peacock of Roughstock called it "soulful, catchy and distinctive," giving it a four-star rating out of five.
Music video
Potsy Ponciroli directed the music video, which features Niemann playing guitar while singing the song on a porch. It was filmed in Nashville, Tennessee. Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser make cameos at the end.
Chart performance
"Lover, Lover" debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week ending March 6, 2010. On the week of August 14, 2010, it became his first number one on the Hot Country Songs charts. It finished at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart and 22 on the Hot Country Songs year-end chart.