Endless Love (song)

For other uses, see Endless Love (disambiguation).
"Endless Love"
Single by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
from the album Endless Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side "Endless Love (instrumental)"
Released August 1, 1981
Format 7" single
Recorded 1981
Genre Pop, R&B
Length 4:24
Label Motown
Writer(s) Lionel Richie
Producer(s) Lionel Richie
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Diana Ross chronology
"Cryin' My Heart out for You"
(1981)		 "Endless Love"
(1981)		 "Medley of Hits"
(1981)
Lionel Richie chronology
"Endless Love"
(1981)		 "Truly"
(1982)
"Endless Love"
Diana Ross and Lionel Richie "Endless Love" from Endless Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
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"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and fellow soul singer Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by soul singer Luther Vandross with R&B singer Mariah Carey and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Richie's friend (and sometimes co-worker) Kenny Rogers has also recorded the song. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all-time.[1]

About the record

Ross and Richie recorded the song for Motown, and it was used as the theme for the Franco Zeffirelli's film adaptation of Scott Spencer's novel Endless Love. Produced by Richie and arranged by Gene Page, it was released as a single from the film's soundtrack in 1981. While the film Endless Love was a modest box-office success, the song became the second biggest-selling single of the year (first was "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes) in the U.S. and reached number 1 on the Hot 100, where it stayed for nine weeks from August 15 to October 10, 1981. It also topped the Billboard R&B chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, and reached number 7 in the UK.

The soulful composition became the biggest-selling single of Ross' career, and her 18th and final career number-one single (including her work with The Supremes). It also was Richie's highest charting single, and the first of several hits for Richie during the 1980s. Ross recorded a solo version of the song for her first RCA Records album, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, the duet version being her last hit on Motown. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Richie, and was the second song with which Ross was involved that was nominated for an Oscar. It also won a 1982 American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report 1
Canadian Singles Chart[2] 1
Dutch Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart[3] 9
New Zealand Singles Chart 3
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
Swedish Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
U.S. Billboard Black Singles 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[4] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Rank
Australia [5] 8
Canada [6] 3
New Zealand [7] 42
UK [8] 76
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [9] 2
U.S. Cashbox [10] 1

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1980–89) Rank
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 3

All-time charts

Chart (1958–2015) Rank
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 16

Preceded by
"Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Ross/Richie version)
August 15, 1981 - October 10, 1981 		Succeeded by
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross
Preceded by
"I'm in Love" by Evelyn King		 Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single (Ross/Richie version)
August 22, 1981 - October 3, 1981 		Succeeded by
"When She Was My Girl" by The Four Tops
Preceded by
"Touch Me When We're Dancing" by The Carpenters		 Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single (Ross/Richie version)
September 5, 1981 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross
Preceded by
"You Drive Me Crazy" by Shakin' Stevens		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one single (Ross/Richie version)
October 5, 1981 - October 26, 1981 		Succeeded by
"You Weren't in Love with Me" by Billy Field

Personnel

Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey version

"Endless Love"
Single by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey
from the album Songs
Released August 29, 1994 (1994-08-29)
Format CD single, cassette single, 7" single
Recorded 1994
Genre R&B
Length 4:21
Label Epic
Writer(s) Lionel Richie
Producer(s) Walter Afanasieff
Luther Vandross chronology
"Never Let Me Go"
(1993)		 "Endless Love"
(1994)		 "Always and Forever"
(1994)
Mariah Carey chronology
"Anytime You Need a Friend"
(1994)		 "Endless Love"
(1994)		 "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
(1994)
"Endless Love"
Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey's "Endless Love" from Songs
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Walter Afanasieff produced Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey's cover of the song for Vandross' Epic Records-released album Songs, and it is known for being Carey's first "high-profile" duet (an earlier duet, "I'll Be There", was with the then-unknown background singer Trey Lorenz). At the 1995 Grammy Awards, the song was nominated in the new category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, losing to "Funny How Time Slips Away" by Al Green and Lyle Lovett. Columbia Records later included the song on Carey's compilation album Greatest Hits (2001) and then again on her next compilation album, The Ballads (2008). It was released as the second single from Songs in 1994.

Recording

Sony Music Entertainment President Tommy Mottola suggested that Vandross record Songs, an album of cover versions. Featuring Vandross' versions of songs like Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With", Heatwave's "Always and Forever", and Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", the album was shaping up to be a major career accomplishment. To give the album a bigger boost, Mottola's then-wife, Mariah Carey, came up with the idea to remake "Endless Love" as a duet with her. Lionel Richie and Diana Ross had originally recorded "Endless Love" in 1981, and the song spent nine weeks at number 1. Although Luther's album was already set to contain one Lionel Richie composition, "Hello", it was obvious that having the most-popular female singer on the Sony label singing on the album would be a benefit.[12]

Critical reception

AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted this track.[13] Entertainment Weekly's Jeremy Helligar wrote that the album might very will give Vandross a number one hit with "Endless Love" but still called the song "drippy." [14]

Track listings

7" single[15][16]

  1. "Endless Love" - 4:21
  2. "Endless Love" (instrumental) - 4:22

Japanese 3" CD single[17]

  1. "Endless Love" - 4:21
  2. "Endless Love" (Mariah only) - 4:22
  3. "Endless Love" (Luther only) - 4:22
  4. "Endless Love" (instrumental) - 4:22

UK and European CD maxi single[18][19]

  1. "Endless Love" - 4:21
  2. "Endless Love" (instrumental) - 4:22
  3. "Never Too Much (live) - 5:00
  4. "Any Love" (live) - 5:22
  5. "She Won't Talk to Me" (live) - 5:14

Chart performance

"Endless Love" debuted on September 10, 1994 at number 31 and peaked at number 2 being held back from the top position by Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You". The song became Luther Vandross' biggest pop hit ever and gave Lionel Richie his first top ten as a songwriter in seven years. It became Vandross's fifth top-ten single and Carey's twelfth. It remained in the top forty for thirteen weeks, and was ranked number 56 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts. It was also an improvement over Carey's previous single, "Anytime You Need a Friend", which had missed the top ten. It was certified gold by the RIAA.

The song was a success outside the U.S, reaching the top of the chart in New Zealand (for five weeks) and the top five in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. It also reached the top 20 in most of the countries. It was certified Platinum in Australia by ARIA and in New Zealand by RIANZ.

Total sales in the UK stand at 230,000.[20]

Music video

Two music videos were released for the single; one features Carey and Vandross recording the song in a studio, and the other shows the two performing the song live at Royal Albert Hall. The latter performance is included on the Luther Vandross: From Luther with Love music video collection in DVD format.

Some versions of the song itself were released, in which Carey or Vandross sings solo.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 13
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 2
Canada (The Record)[24] 14
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[25] 6
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[26] 4
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[27] 7
France (SNEP)[28] 12
Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[30] 4
Italy (Hit Parade)[31] 8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[33] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[34] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[35] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 3
UK R&B [39] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[40] 2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[41] 11
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[42] 7
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[43] 7
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[44] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Rank
Australia (ARIA)[45] 27
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[46] 20
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[47] 56
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[48] 52
Italy (Hit Parade)[49] 61
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[50] 62
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[51] 58
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[52] 10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 77
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 49
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[55] 44
US Billboard Hot 100[56] 56
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[56] 88

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] Platinum 70,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Silver 230,000[20]
United States (RIAA)[60] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Lionel Richie and Shania Twain version

"Endless Love"
Single by Lionel Richie and Shania Twain
from the album Tuskegee
Released February 7, 2012
Format Digital download, airplay
Recorded 2011
Genre Country, pop
Length 4:18
Label Universal Music Nashville
Writer(s) Lionel Richie
Producer(s) Nathan Chapman, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie singles chronology
"All Night Long"
(2011)		 "Endless Love"
(2012)		 "Say You, Say Me"
(2012)
Shania Twain singles chronology
"Today Is Your Day"
(2011)		 "Endless Love"
(2012)

Lionel Richie re-recorded the song in 2011 as a duet with country singer Shania Twain. It was released as the lead single from his album Tuskegee on February 7, 2012. The recording process of song was documented in the final episode of Twain's reality docudrama series, Why Not? with Shania Twain, which aired on June 12, 2011.

Music video

A music video for the song was recorded in the Bahamas in February 2012. The video, directed by Paul Boyd, was released to country music channels CMT and GAC on March 23, 2012.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[61] 99
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100[62] 16
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[63] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Rank
US Adult Contemporary[64] 30

Song appearances

The song was included in Adam Sandler's movie Happy Gilmore when Happy and his girlfriend Virginia are ice skating, and the song begins to play. Virginia says to Happy "I thought we were just going to be friends." To which he responds, "What, friends listen to 'Endless Love' in the dark."

In A Night at the Roxbury, there was a wedding going on with the couple singing the song, and the Butabis were dancing.

The song was included as well in the third season of Friends, in which Phoebe walks into Chandler's apartment, to find him singing the song and holding Lionel Richie's first album (even though the song is included on his fourth album, Back to Front).[65]

On an episode of The Steve Harvey Show, Steve and Regina perform the song at a janitor's urging (who thought they were Ross and Richie); at the end of the song, the janitor quips "no wonder you guys haven't had a hit in a while."

On an episode of Glee, Matthew Morrison, the Glee Club instructor, and Lea Michele as one of his students (Rachel) sing the song as a duet in class with Lea Michele remarking in an interior monologue, "I never noticed before, but Mr. Shue is really cute." This leads to a series of increasingly embarrassing high school crush scenes.

Namibian singer Nianell and South African singer Dozi included it on their duet covers album "It Takes Two" in 2009.[66]

Live cover performances

The song has been performed four times on American Idol, by Rickey Smith, Chris Sligh, Danny Gokey, and Deandre Brackensick. The song was also performed on Australian Idol in 2007 by eventual winner Natalie Gauci on the Final 7 Birth Year (the contestants performed songs from the year they were born) theme night. It was also performed by Whitney Houston and her brother Gary Houston in some of her 1997-1998 concerts, including the Classic Whitney concert in Washington D.C.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The 40 Biggest Duets of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  2. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Mississauga, Ontario: 1999.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  6. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  7. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 1981". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top 100 1981". top-source.info. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  11. ↑ Trust, Gary (12 November 2015). "Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  13. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Album Review: 'Songs' - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love". Discogs. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Mariah Carey Official Top 20 Best Selling Singles in the UK". MTV. MTV Networks Europe. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  21. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. April 22, 1995. p. 66. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2655." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2663." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. October 15, 1990. p. 64. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey - Endless Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  30. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Endless Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  31. ↑ "HitParadeItalia - Carey, Mariah" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 41, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". VG-lista. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Luther Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Mariah Carey: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  39. ↑ "UK R&B Singles Chart". The Official Charts Company. October 9, 1994. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Luther Vandross – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Luther Vandross. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Luther Vandross – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Luther Vandross. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Luther Vandross – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Luther Vandross. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Luther Vandross – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Luther Vandross. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Luther Vandross – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Luther Vandross. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  45. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1994". ARIA. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  46. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  47. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  48. ↑ "RPM Top 100 AC Tracks of 1994". RPM. December 12, 1994. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  49. ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 1994" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  50. ↑ "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  51. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1994" (in Dutch). GfK Dutch Charts. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  52. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 1994". RIANZ. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  53. ↑ "Årslista Singlar - År 1994" (in Swedish). GLF. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  54. ↑ "Swiss Year-end Charts 1994". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  55. ↑ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40-1994 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  56. 1 2 "The Year in Music: 1994" (PDF). Billboard. December 24, 1994. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  57. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. Australia: St Ives, N.S.W. : Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  58. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Luthor Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  59. ↑ "British single certifications – Luthor Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 22, 2015. Enter Endless Love in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  60. ↑ "American single certifications – Luthor Vandross & Mariah Carey – Endless Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 22, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  61. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Lionel Richie feat. Shania Twain – Endless Love" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  62. ↑ "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Week of February 25, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  63. ↑ "Lionel Richie – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Lionel Richie.
  64. ↑ "Best of 2012 - Adult Contemporary Songs 21-30". Billboard.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  65. ↑ Friends-Chandler and Phoebe singing together. 29 October 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2016 – via YouTube.
  66. ↑ "takealot.com". Kalahari.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.

External links

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