I Love Your Smile
Encyclopedia
"I Love Your Smile" is a song recorded by R&B
singer Shanice
and released in 1991 as the first single from her album Inner Child
. The song features saxophonist Branford Marsalis
. It met success in many countries, including U.S., where it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
and number one on the Billboard R&B charts. To date, it is her best known and most successful hit. Talib Kweli
referenced the song in his single "Hot Thing
".
solo
by Branford Marsalis
. The radio
and video version of the song edits out the rap bridge
from the album version. Janet Jackson
and René Elizondo
can be heard laughing at the end of the song. The track was crafted by producer Louis Biancaniello
and the vocals were captured by producer Narada Michael Walden
.
(blocked by Right Said Fred
's I'm Too Sexy
) and #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It also reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
(blocked by Shakespear's Sister's "Stay"), when it was re-released in 1992. It was a top ten hit in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Australia and Austria.
.
in 2004 for her self-titled first EP, by Kaori Kobayashi
in 2005 for her debut album "Solar, Kaori's Collection", by Jakob Elvstrøm in 2009 for his album "SaxClub vol.1" and by Ukrainian singer Julia Voice in her 2010 song "Vse o lyubvi" .
CD single 2
7" single
7" single - Driza Bone remix
1 Driza Bone remix
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Shanice
Shanice
Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox , better known as Shanice, is a Grammy-nominated American R&B/soul singer-songwriter. She scored two Top 5 Billboard hit single's "I Love Your Smile" in 1991, and "Saving Forever for You" in 1993. In 1999, Shanice scored another top hit song, "When I Close My Eyes"...
and released in 1991 as the first single from her album Inner Child
Inner Child
Inner Child is the second studio album by American R&B singer Shanice Wilson, released November 19, 1991 on Motown Records. The album peaked at No. 13 on Billboards Top R&B Albums chart. The lead single I Love Your Smile peaked at #2 Pop and #1 R&B charts...
. The song features saxophonist Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
. It met success in many countries, including U.S., where it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and number one on the Billboard R&B charts. To date, it is her best known and most successful hit. Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
referenced the song in his single "Hot Thing
Hot Thing
"Hot Thing" is the third single by Talib Kweli taken from his fourth solo album Eardrum. The song features will.i.am who is also the producer of the song. The song samples the songs "We're No Exception" by Johnny "Guitar" Watson and "More, More, More" by Andrea True. The music video consists of two...
".
Background and writing
The song features a saxophoneSaxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
by Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
. The radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and video version of the song edits out the rap bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
from the album version. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
and René Elizondo
Réne Elizondo
René Elizondo, Jr. is a dancer, songwriter, and music video director but may be best known as the ex-husband of Janet Jackson. The two met in the mid-1980s and married secretly in 1991. Elizondo was heavily involved in Jackson's business affairs, but the two had fallen out as marital partners...
can be heard laughing at the end of the song. The track was crafted by producer Louis Biancaniello
Louis Biancaniello
Louis John Biancaniello is a songwriter, record producer, and musician.-Background:Louis' skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice "I Love Your Smile", Whitney Houston "I'm Every Woman" from the Grammy winning album The...
and the vocals were captured by producer Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
.
Music video
In the music video, Shanice is in a studio having several pictures taken by a photographer. One scene shows her in a leather jacket, another has her sitting in a chair in front of a microphone stand, and another has her dancing with several backup dancers. In the middle of the video, Shanice walks through the park and the photographer hides behind a tree while he takes more pictures of her. At the end, Shanice offers to take a picture of a family, and then takes a picture of the photographer.Chart performances
"I Love Your Smile" reached #2 on the Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(blocked by Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred
Right Said Fred is an English pop band, formed in 1989 by brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred Fairbrass, later joined by their friend Rob Manzoli. The group is named after a song of the same name which was a hit for Bernard Cribbins in 1962...
's I'm Too Sexy
I'm Too Sexy
"I'm Too Sexy" is a song by English trio Right Said Fred from their album Up. The single topped the American charts for three weeks in early 1992, after having peaked at number two in Britain less than six months earlier....
) and #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It also reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
(blocked by Shakespear's Sister's "Stay"), when it was re-released in 1992. It was a top ten hit in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Australia and Austria.
Awards
In 1992, the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs...
.
Cover Versions
"I Love Your Smile" was covered by German r'n'b group duo R'n'G in 1998 for a tribute album "Hands on Motown", by Tiffany EvansTiffany Evans
Tiffany Evans is an American singer and occasional actress.-2003–2006: The Beginning:Evans was born in Bronx, New York and is the seventh of 10 children born to Carol and Lonnie Evans. Before she achieved success, she and her family were living in their van for years. She got her first break on...
in 2004 for her self-titled first EP, by Kaori Kobayashi
Kaori Kobayashi
, is a Japanese jazz saxophonist and flautist. She grew up in Tokyo.-Biography:Kobayashi was born on October 20, 1981 in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Her father was a photographer and her mother, a piano teacher. Beginning at a very young age, Kobayashi learned to play the piano. When she was 13 years...
in 2005 for her debut album "Solar, Kaori's Collection", by Jakob Elvstrøm in 2009 for his album "SaxClub vol.1" and by Ukrainian singer Julia Voice in her 2010 song "Vse o lyubvi" .
Track listings
CD single 1- "I Love Your Smile" (radio version) — 3:46
- "I Love Your Smile" (extended version) — 4:14
- "I Love Your Smile" (instrumental) — 4:14
CD single 2
- "I Love Your Smile" (Driza BoneDriza BoneDriza Bone is a international dance music / remixing musical ensemble, led by the record producers / musicians, Billy April and Vincent Garcia. They used various female vocalists to provide the vocal element to their output. Driza Bone were primarily popular in the early 1990s...
single remix) - "I Love Your Smile" (Driza Bone club mix)
- "I Love Your Smile" (Driza Bone dub mix)
- "I Love Your Smile" (original single version)
7" single
- "I Love Your Smile" (radio version) — 3:46
- "I Love Your Smile" (instrumental) — 4:14
7" single - Driza Bone remix
- "I Love Your Smile" (Driza Bone single remix) — 3:50
- "I Love Your Smile" (original version) — 3:46
Personnel
- All vocals and rap by Shanice Wilson
- keyboards and programming by Louis BiancanielloLouis BiancanielloLouis John Biancaniello is a songwriter, record producer, and musician.-Background:Louis' skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice "I Love Your Smile", Whitney Houston "I'm Every Woman" from the Grammy winning album The...
- drums and programming by Narada Michael Walden
- saxophone solo by Branford MarsalisBranford MarsalisBranford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
Peak positions
| Chart (1991/92) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 8 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
2 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 7 |
| German Singles Chart | 2 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 26 |
| Irish IRMA Singles Chart 1 | 30 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 9 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart (1991 release) | 55 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles | 1 |
1 Driza Bone remix
Year-end charts
| Chart (1992) | Position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40 | 67 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
See also
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1991 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1992 (U.S.)
- Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 1992Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 1992This is a list of the Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1992....