| Easy Lover | |
| Cover: | Philip-bailey-easy-lover-duet-with-phil-collins-1985.jpg |
| Caption: | Front cover of UK 7-inch single |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Philip Bailey and Phil Collins |
| Album: | Chinese Wall |
| B-Side: | Woman |
| Released: | 6 November 1984 (US) 21 February 1985 (UK)[1] |
| Recorded: | 1984 |
| Length: | 4:54 (single version) 5:03 (album version) |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Phil Collins |
| Chronology: | Philip Bailey |
| Prev Title: | Photogenic Memory |
| Prev Year: | 1984 |
| Next Title: | Walking on the Chinese Wall |
| Next Year: | 1984 |
"Easy Lover" is a song performed by Philip Bailey of the band Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins of the band Genesis, jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East. The song appears on Bailey's solo album, Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts, and it appears on both his 1990 album, Serious Hits... Live!, and his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits. It is Bailey's only US Top 40 hit as a solo artist.
The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it spent 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 7 weeks in the Top 10, and peaked at No. 2 the weeks of 2 February 1985 and 9 February 1985, behind the chart-topping "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks.[2] The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold,[3] as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to one million units until 1989.[4] In addition, "Easy Lover" has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Music Canada. Despite Collins' popularity in Australia, its lowly position on that country's charts was because of a record company dispute.
"Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in and was Grammy Award nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.[5] [6]
The song was also used as the theme song for the World Wrestling Federation's first ever WrestleMania, it was used in the opening of the show but later versions removed this due to licensing issues.
In 1984, Phil Collins was hired as the producer for Philip Bailey's solo album, Chinese Wall. According to Collins, Bailey approached him at the end of the sessions for the album and asked him to write a song together. In "Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs", a 2016 interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine, Collins said of the song: "So we just started having a jam one night, and went round and round and turned it into a verse and a chorus. We recorded it that night so we wouldn't forget it. That song doesn't sound like any particular era. It's just fantastic."[7] According to the official sheet music, the song is in the key of F minor and has a tempo of 105 BPM, though the studio recording has a tempo of 130 BPM.[8]
The song's music video, filmed at Etward Studios, London, England, humorously depicts the making of a music video. It was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich.[9]
| Peak position | |
| Canada (The Record)[10] | 1 |
|---|---|
| Europe (European Top 100 Singles)[11] | 1 |
| Europe (European Airplay Top 50)[12] | 1 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] | 5 |
| Italy (Musica e dischi)[14] | 21 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio)[15] | 6 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[16] | 11 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[17] | 1 |
| US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles (Cash Box)[18] | 4 |
| Position | ||
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] | 26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] | 4 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] | 11 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 22 | |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] | 42 | |
| UK Singles (Gallup)[24] | 12 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[25] | 12 | |
| US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[26] | 47 | |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[27] | 33 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[28] | 7 | |
| US Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles (Cash Box)[29] | 27 | |
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[30] | 41 |
