Like the Way I Do explained

Like the Way I Do
Cover:Like the way i do.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Melissa Etheridge
Album:Melissa Etheridge
B-Side:"Like the Way I Do" (live)
Released:October 1988 (US)
Studio:Cherokee I (Los Angeles)
Length:5:25
Label:Island
Producer:
  • Craig Krampf
  • Kevin McCormick
  • Melissa Etheridge
  • Niko Bolas
Prev Title:Don't You Need
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Similar Features
Next Year:1988

"Like the Way I Do" is a song by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released as the second US single from her first album, Melissa Etheridge (1988). In the United Kingdom, "Don't You Need" was released as the second single.

Song information

The song was written years before the album was recorded. Melissa Etheridge had already played it during her live concerts, where it was the first of her own compositions that kept being requested by the audience.[1] The intro of the song was created by coincidence when the singer played one of her other songs—"I Want You"—backwards on a cassette recorder.[2]

"Like the Way I Do" is one of Etheridge's most famous songs and in her autobiography, she says,[3] ""Like the Way I Do" is definitely one of my best songs. It is filled with passion and agony and desire and utter gut-wrenching pain. If you've ever seen me in concert, you know that when I perform that song, it becomes a part of me. It's a transforming song for both the audience and me."

Etheridge also says that the studio version is actually a short version of the song since when she performs it live, she improvises a lot which sometimes makes the song last 15 to 20 minutes.[4]

Chart performance

The song did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, but it was a minor hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart, where it reached 28 on December the 3rd, 1988.[5] Seven years later, "Like the Way I Do" was re-released as the B-side to Yes I Ams final single, "If I Wanted To"; this allowed the track to chart on the Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at No. 42. Under the then Hot 100 rules, all of the combined retail sales points of the single were given to the A-side, so "Like the Way I Do" charted on radio airplay points alone.

In 1992, a live version of the song that Etheridge performed at the Roxy Theatre in October 1988 was released as a single in the Netherlands and Belgium, peaking at No. 2 in the former country and No. 38 in the latter the following year.

Music video

"Like the Way I Do" was the first Etheridge song for which a video was produced. It was conceived and directed by Tony van den Ende. It shows the singer during a live concert and includes scenes both on stage and backstage. The place at which she is playing is a smaller bar or club with a smoky, rather dark atmosphere.[6] It was produced in 1988 and is also included on the bonus DVD of her album Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled.

Track listing

All songs were written by Melissa Etheridge.

A. "Like the Way I Do" – 5:25

B. "Like the Way I Do" (live) – 6:03

Credits and personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version

Live version

Year-end charts

Original version

Live version

Chart (1993)Position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 19

Cover versions

References

Notes and References

  1. Etheridge/Morton 2002, p. 80
  2. Etheridge/Morton 2002, p. 77.
  3. Etheridge/Morton 2002, p. 76
  4. Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled at 00:11:35
  5. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1988/BB-1988-12-03.pdf
  6. Web site: Melissa Etheridge - Like The Way I Do. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/DVlzrvRYCh0. December 12, 2021 . live. corky73cz. July 12, 2007. April 13, 2017. YouTube.
  7. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 7. 19. February 13, 1993.
  8. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – 1989. ARIA. Imgur. July 29, 2022.
  9. Web site: Billboard Top 100 – 1995. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090815124541/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1995. August 15, 2009. August 27, 2010.
  10. Web site: Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1993. Dutch Top 40. nl. July 29, 2022.
  11. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993. MegaCharts. nl. July 29, 2022.
  12. Web site: Releases. 2-4 Grooves. April 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20110902215738/http://www.24grooves.de/releases0.0.html. September 2, 2011. dead.
  13. Web site: Home. Musicload. April 13, 2017.
  14. Web site: 2-4 Grooves - The Way I Do. 2-4 Grooves. de. April 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20110902215958/http://www.24grooves.de/thewayido0.0.html. September 2, 2011. dead.
  15. Web site: Mottoshows der 4. Staffel. de. DSDS. April 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20130828131803/http://www.dsds.ch/dsds2/mottoshows/index.html. August 28, 2013. dead.
  16. Web site: Mottoshows der 4. Staffel. DSDS. de. April 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20130828122758/http://www.dsds.ch/dsds4/mottoshows/index.html. August 28, 2013. dead.

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