Part-Time Lover
"Part-Time Lover" is a single by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder, from his 1985 album In Square Circle. The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, dance, and adult contemporary charts. The song's simultaneous chart successes made Wonder the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard charts. The song was also released as a special 12" version. Lyrically, it tells the story of a man who is cheating on his wife with a mistress, only to find out in the end that his wife is cheating on him as well.
"Part-Time Lover" | ||||
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Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
from the album In Square Circle | ||||
B-side | "Instrumental" | |||
Released | August 24, 1985 | |||
Recorded | Summer 1985 | |||
Genre | Pop, R&B, soul, synthpop | |||
Length | Album version: 4:12 7" version: 3:43 12" version: 8:20 | |||
Label | Tamla | |||
Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Producer(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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"Part-Time Lover" also reached number three on the UK Singles Chart thanks in large part to a performance by Wonder on Top of the Pops in late 1985.
The song featured R&B singer Luther Vandross singing the ad-libs and backing vocals, in addition to Syreeta Wright and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire. Wonder earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1986, for the song. Wonder is noted in the liner notes of the 4-CD set Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection Volume 2 1972-1992 as describing the music for the song as an ode to "You Can't Hurry Love" and "My World Is Empty Without You", both by the Supremes, former Motown labelmates of Wonder.
Chart history
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
All-time charts
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Cover versions
- Puerto Rican salsa musician Bobby Valentin covered the song in 1986 which peaked at #23 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.[28]
Popular culture
Jesse Metcalfe danced the quickstep to the song on Dancing with the Stars.
Personnel
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, synthesizers, drums
- Luther Vandross – lead vocal, background vocal
- Syreeta Wright, Philip Bailey (Earth Wind & Fire), Keith John, Melody McCully, Billy Durham, Peter Byrne (Naked Eyes), Renee Hardaway, Darryl Phinnessee - background vocal[29]
See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1985
- List of number-one singles of 1985 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles in 1985 (New Zealand)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1985 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance singles of 1985 (U.S.)
References
- "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- "Austriancharts.at – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- "part time lover - stevie wonder". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
- "Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 22, September 10, 1985". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1985-11-09. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
- "Lescharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- "Chart Track: Week 29, 1985". Irish Singles Chart.
- "I singoli più venduti del 1985". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Creative Commons. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
10. Part Time Lover - Stevie Wonder [#1] - "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stevie Wonder" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- "Charts.nz – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". VG-lista.
- "Notowanie nr 185" (in Polish). 19 October 1985. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- "TOP 20 TMP Portugal - number one in the 80's airplay charts".
- "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- Salaverri, Fernando (September 1985). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Singles Top 100.
- "Swisscharts.com – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". Swiss Singles Chart.
- "Official Charts Company -". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1940-10-14). "Stevie Wonder | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)
|format=
requires|url=
(help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. - "RPM's Top 100 Singles of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43 no. 16. 28 December 1985. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- "End of Year Charts 1985". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
- "Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 24 January 1987. p. 24.
- Musicoutfitters.com
- "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- "Bobby Valentin: Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 27, 1986.
- "In Square Circle on". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-12-22.