The Game of Love (Santana song) explained

The Game of Love
Cover:	TheGameOfLoveSantanaftMichelleBranch.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Santana featuring Michelle Branch
B-Side:	"Come to My World" "Curacion"
Length:	4:18
Label:	Arista BMG
Producer:	Alex Ander Rick Nowels Carlos Santana Clive Davis
Chronology:	Santana
Prev Title:	Primavera
Prev Year:	2001
Next Title:	Nothing at All
Next Year:	2003

"The Game of Love" is a song by American rock band Santana from their 19th studio album, Shaman (2002). The vocal performance on the song is by Michelle Branch. It was composed by Gregg Alexander (as Alex Ander) and Rick Nowels. The song was released as a single on September 23, 2002, and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.^[1] Commercially, "The Game of Love" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, becoming that ranking's most successful track of 2003. The song also reached the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, and six European countries.

Background

The song had originally been recorded with New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, but album producer Clive Davis felt a female voice would maximize the song's appeal and a recording of Santana performing "The Game of Love" with Tina Turner as vocalist was completed. When Turner declined to participate in making a video for the track, Davis recruited Macy Gray to record a replacement vocal. When Davis was not satisfied with that version, Michelle Branch was asked to record the song,^[2] with Branch's rhythm guitar playing also added to the track. Branch said, "It was the first time for me to sing somebody else's song. Usually I'm like: 'Oh I want it this way' and I'm in charge...I didn't meet [Carlos Santana at the recording session], I didn't know what was going on...It felt to me like wow it seems like there's so much at stake, I'm going to go in there and just sing my heart out and just cross my fingers."^[3]

The Tina Turner version of "The Game of Love" was issued on the 2007 retrospective Ultimate Santana. Santana said "There's only one Tina Turner...No one can hit a note like Tina Turner...I love Michelle [Branch] and she did a great interpretation of it. It's just that with all honor and respect to Michelle, there's the girl and there's the woman, and Michelle is unfolding into a woman...but it takes time to go from a girl into a woman."^[4]

Chart performance

"The Game of Love" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending November 30, 2002. The song stayed on the charts for 37 weeks. The song became Branch's second top-10 hit, as well as her first-highest-peaking single, after "All You Wanted" and "Everywhere".

Music video

The music video depicts Santana and Branch in an alley with couples around them, each expressing their love for one another. The director was Paul Fedor and the video was filmed in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, with cameo appearances by Wesley Snipes, Helen Hunt and Jennifer Garner.

Track listings

US CD single^[5]

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "The Game of Love" (instrumental) – 4:18

European CD and cassette single^{[6] [7]}

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "Come to My World" – 4:11

European and Australian maxi-CD single^[8]

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "Come to My World" – 4:11
3. "Curacion" – 4:47
4. "The Game of Love" (video)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the European CD single liner notes.^[6]

Studio

• Mixed at Larrabee North Studios (North Hollywood, California, US)
• Engineered at the Big Space (Santa Monica, California, US) and Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California, US)

Personnel

• Alex Ander – writing, production
• Rick Nowels – writing, background vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, production
• Carlos Santana – lead guitar, horn arrangements, album production
• Michelle Branch – lead vocals, background vocals
• Andy Vargas – additional vocals
• Tony Lindsay – additional vocals
• Niki Haris – background vocals
• Siedah Garrett – background vocals
• Rusty Anderson – additional electric guitar
• Chester Thompson – piano, organ
• Benny Rietveld – bass
• Brian Collier – drums
• Wayne Rodrigues – drum programming
• Raul Rekow – congas
• Karl Perazzo – percussion
• Louis Conte – additional percussion
• Bill Ortiz – trumpet, horn arrangements
• Julius Melendez – trumpet
• Jeff Cressman – trombone, horn arrangements
• Martin Wehner – trombone
• Ben Conrad – engineering
• Chris Garcia – engineering
• Randy Wine – engineering
• Greg Collins – engineering
• Michael Rosen – engineering
• Scott Holderby – engineering
• Eddie Kramer – engineering
• Tone – engineering
• Kieron Menzies – engineering assistant
• Alan Veucosovic – engineering assistant
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Kirstin Johnson – project coordination for Ander and Nowels
• Robert Cappadona – project coordination for Ander and Nowels
• Clive Davis – album production
• Antonio "LA" Reid – executive production

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "The Game of Love"!Chart (2002–2003)!Peak
position

Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)^[9]	4
Croatia (HRT)^[10]	9
Czech Republic (IFPI CR)^[11]	7
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[12]	37
Greece (IFPI)^[13]	10
Nicaragua (Notimex)^[14]	4
Panama (Notimex)^[15]	5
Portugal (AFP)^[16]	4
Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[17]	7

Year-end charts

Chart (2002)!scope="col"

Position
Brazil (Crowley)^[18]	54
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)^[19]	78
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[20]	39
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[21]	48
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[22]	75

2003 year-end chart performance for "The Game of Love"!Chart (2003)!Position

Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[23]	83
US Billboard Hot 100^[24]	27
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[25]	1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)	8
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[26]	52

Release history

Region!scope="col"

Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	September 23, 2002		Arista	^[27]
Australia	November 11, 2002	CD		^[28]
United Kingdom				^[29]

See also

• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2003

Notes and References

1. News: 2003 Grammy Award Winners. The New York Times. February 25, 2003. May 6, 2018.
2. http://yousingiwrite.blogspot.ca/2009/11/night-with-clive-davis.html You Sing, I Write: A Night With Clive Davis
3. News: Santana, Branch shine. November 20, 2002. The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 10, 2021. A2. Newspapers.com.
4. Victoria Advocate August 3, 2007, p. m3
5. The Game of Love. Santana. 2002. US CD single liner notes. Arista Records. 07822-15203-2.
6. The Game of Love. Santana. 2002. European CD single liner notes. Arista Records, BMG. 74321959432.
7. The Game of Love. Santana. 2002. European cassette single sleeve. Arista Records, BMG. 74321 959444.
8. The Game of Love. Santana. 2002. European & Australian maxi-CD single liner notes. Arista Records, BMG. 74321959442.
9. Santana Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs). Billboard. February 23, 2019.
10. Web site: Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija. Croatian Radiotelevision. https://web.archive.org/web/20021203201335/http://www.hrt.hr/hr/top20/maineng.html. dead. December 3, 2002. April 14, 2023.
11. Web site: Oficiální Česká Hitparáda – Pro týden 4/2003. IFPI ČR. cs. January 16, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20030201133447/http://www.ifpicr.cz/radio.htm. February 1, 2003. dead.
12. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 20. 49. 11. November 30, 2002. March 1, 2020.
13. Top National Sellers. Music & Media. 20. 47. 11. November 16, 2002. March 1, 2020.
14. News: t.A.t.U domina. es. El Siglo de Torreón. December 16, 2002. August 3, 2022.
15. News: t.A.t.U domina. El Siglo de Torreón. es. December 16, 2002. August 3, 2022.
16. Top National Sellers. Music & Media. 20. 49. 13. November 30, 2002. March 1, 2020.
17. Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 Editia 4, saptamina 3.02–9.02, 2003. Romanian Top 100. ro. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20041228110234/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10055.html. December 28, 2004. September 29, 2020.
18. Web site: Brazilian Top 100 Year-End 2002. April 3, 2018. Crowley Broadcast Analysis. January 30, 2022.
19. Web site: Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002. Jam!. January 14, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20040906184715/http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicCharts/2002_singles.html. September 6, 2004. March 22, 2022.
20. Most-Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 16. December 20, 2002.
21. Most-Played AC Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 19. December 20, 2002.
22. Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2002. Airplay Monitor. 10. 51. 12. December 20, 2002.
23. Web site: Topul anului 2003. Romanian Top 100. ro. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050122205325/http://www.rt100.ro/topul-anului-2003.html. January 22, 2005. May 4, 2020.
24. News: Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles & Tracks. Billboard. 115. 52. YE-30. December 27, 2003. February 11, 2017.
25. Year in Music. Billboard. 115. 52. YE-80. December 27, 2003. November 26, 2023.
26. The Year in Charts 2003: Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs. Airplay Monitor. 11. 51. 14. December 19, 2003.
27. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1471. 33. September 20, 2002. May 6, 2021.
28. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 11th November 2002. ARIA. 30. November 11, 2002. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20030106130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030107-0000/Issue663.pdf. January 6, 2003. May 6, 2021.
29. New Releases – For Week Starting 11 November 2002: Singles. Music Week. 25. November 9, 2002. August 30, 2021.