"Wanna Be with You"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album Raise!
B-side"*Kalimba Tree Instrumental (US)
  • My Love (UK)"
ReleasedDecember 1981
RecordedMay 1981
GenreR&B
Length3:55 (single version) 4:36 (album version)
LabelARC/Columbia
Songwriter(s)Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn
Producer(s)Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"Let's Groove"
(1981)		 "Wanna Be with You"
(1981)		 "I've Had Enough"
(1982)

"Wanna Be with You" is a song by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire issued as a single in December 1981 by ARC/Columbia Records.[1] The single rose to No. 15 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, No. 7 on the UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles chart and No. 40 on the RPM Canadian Pop Singles Chart.[2][3][4]

Overview

"Wanna Be with You" was produced by Maurice White and composed by White with Wayne Vaughn. The single's US b-side was an instrumental of an interlude called Kalimba Tree with its UK b-side being a song called My Love. Wanna Be With You, Kalimba Tree and My Love came from EWF's 1981 studio album Raise!.[1]

Critical reception

Don Palmer of Musician proclaimed that "Wanna Be with You" is a relaxed shuffle bump boogie based around a ten note piano vamp. The handclaps provide a solid back beat while the horns and altered vocal yelps exclaim the obvious".[5] Tim de Lisle of Smash Hits called Wanna Be with You "a pleasant surprise, an excellent melody given a fresh jazzy treatment.[6]

"Wanna Be with You" won a Grammy Award in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[7]

Covers

Wanna Be with You was covered by the jazz group Urban Knights on their 1995 album Urban Knights I.[8]

Personnel

  • Writing - Maurice White, Wayne Vaughn
  • Producer - Maurice White
  • Assistant producer - Larry Dunn, Verdine White
  • Programmer - Larry Dunn

Engineers[9]

  • Assistant engineer - Tom Perry
  • Mixing engineer - Mick Guzauski, Tom Perry
  • Recording engineer - Ken Fowler, Mick Guzauski, Ron Pendragon

Chart positions

Chart (1982) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 15
U.S. Cashbox Top R&B Singles 17[10]
UK Blues & Soul Top British Soul Singles 7[3]
RPM Canadian Top Singles Chart 40[4]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 51

References

  1. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire: Wanna Be With You. ARC/Columbia Records. December 1981.
  2. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Wanna Be With You (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  3. 1 2 "Top British Soul Singles". No. 382. Blues & Soul. April 20, 1982. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. 1 2 "RPM Top Singles". bac-lac.gc.ca. Vol. 36, no. 4. RPM. March 6, 1982.
  5. ↑ Palmer, Don (January 1, 1982). "RECORD REVIEWS: Earth, Wind & Fire". Musician. No. 39. p. 83 & 84. ProQuest 962646665.
  6. ↑ de Lisle, Tim (March 18, 1982). Earth, Wind & Fire: Wanna Be with You. Smash Hits. p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  8. ↑ Pallow, Dennis (October 30, 1995). "Urban Knights Gallop Through A '70s Groove". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.
  9. ↑ "Jaxsta". jaxsta.com. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  10. ↑ "Cashbox Top R&B Singles". cashboxmagazine.com. Cashbox. February 27, 1982.
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