Love Takes Time
Encyclopedia
"Love Takes Time" is a song written by Mariah Carey
and Ben Margulies
, and produced by Walter Afanasieff
for Carey's debut album, Mariah Carey
(1990). It was released as the album's second single in the third quarter of 1990. It was the first of several adult contemporary
-influenced Carey ballads to be released as a single, and its protagonist laments the loss of a lover and confesses that "love takes time" to heal and that her feelings for her ex-lover remain. It became Carey's second number 1 single in the United States and Canada, but was only a moderate success elsewhere.
Carey was on a mini-tour of ten states, playing acoustically with a piano player and three back-up singers. While on a company plane, she played the demo of "Love Takes Time" for Columbia Records
president Don Ienner
. "All the important guys were on the plane," Marguiles recalls. "Tommy Mottola
, Ienner, and Bobby Colomby." Carey was told the song was a "career-maker," and that it had to go on the first album. She protested - her album was already being mastered, and she intended this ballad for her next release.
The demo was sent to producer Walter Afanasieff
. When Carey flew west to work with Narada Michael Walden
on some tracks for her first album, Tommy Mottola and Don Ienner were impressed with Afanasieff's work and gave him an executive staff producer job with the label.
"I guess to see if he made the right choice, (Tommy) called me up one day," remembers Afanasieff. "He said, 'We've got this Mariah Carey album done, but there's a song that she and Ben Marguiles wrote that is phenomenal, and I want to try everything we can to put it on the album.' I said, 'What do you want me to do?' and he said, 'You only have a couple of days, but are you ready to cut it?' I couldn't believe the opportunity that it was. I'd never produced anything by myself up until that time."
The demo was very close to what Mottola wanted the finished product to be, according to Afanasieff. "We cut the song and the music and the basics in about a day - and the only reason is this deadline. It was do it or we were gonna miss out on the whole thing. We got the tape and recorded everything and we got on the plane and went to New York (and) did her vocals. She did all the backgrounds, practically sang all night...We came back to the studio that afternoon, and we had to fix one line very quickly, and then (engineer) Dana (Jon Chapelle) and I got back on the plane with the tape, went back to the studio in Sausalito, and mixed it. So it was a three-day process: a day and a half for music, kind of like a day for vocals, and a day for mixing."
Afanasieff heard from Columbia executives as soon as they received the mix. They wanted Carey's vocal a little louder, so a remix was quickly completed. The producer asked if the song would still make the debut album, and was told, "We're going to do our best."
When the album was released, "Love Takes Time" was not listed on the cassette or compact disc. "(On) some of the original first copies of the record, they didn't have time to print the name of the song," Marguiles laughs. "And so the song's on there, but it doesn't say that it's on there. It was a song that actually was strong enough to stop the pressing...I don't know if they had to throw away a few hundred copies."
For the release to radio, a second mix was created that muffled Carey's whistle note
in the background of the song, during the song's bridge. This version of the song appeared in all of the official single releases of "Love Takes Time" in the US and abroad.
" in the United States: it reached number 1 in its ninth week on the Billboard Hot 100
and spent three weeks at the top of the chart, from November 10 to November 24, 1990. It spent 17 weeks in the top 40 and the RIAA
certified it gold. It topped every other Billboard
chart for which it was eligible (including the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
). Because its success was divided over two calendar years it did not rank high on Billboards year-end charts, making 76 on the 1990 chart and 69 on the 1991 chart.
However, "Love Takes Time" failed to emulate its U.S. success in any other market except Canada, where it topped the Canadian Singles Chart
for one week. "Love Takes Time" reached the top ten in New Zealand. It did not make much of an impact elsewhere, becoming a moderate top 20 hit in Australia, and top 40 hit in the UK and the Netherlands, but failed to reach the top 40 in Germany.
The song did not receive as many awards as "Vision of Love", but it still managed to win a BMI
R&B Award for Song of the Year and a Songwriter Award.
and Walter Maser, features Carey walking around a beach after a man walks away with luggage in Venice, Los Angeles, California
. The video is not included on the DVD/home video #1's (1999) because Carey has admitted she is ashamed of it. A live performance of the song filmed at Proctor's Theatre in New York in 1993 was included instead.
UK CD single
European CD maxi-single
UK CD maxi-single
|-
! Provider
! Certification
|-
| United States (RIAA
)
| Gold
|-
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Ben Margulies
Ben Margulies
Ben Margulies is a songwriter and record producer. Together, he and Mariah Carey lobbied record companies with their 5 song demo tape with songs they had co-written and co-produced until Mariah got signed to Sony in 1988....
, and produced by Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
for Carey's debut album, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (album)
Mariah Carey is the self-titled debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on June 12, 1990 by Columbia Records. The album contains a range of contemporary genres, and the songs are a mix of slow ballads and dance tracks. Originally, Carey wrote four songs with...
(1990). It was released as the album's second single in the third quarter of 1990. It was the first of several adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
-influenced Carey ballads to be released as a single, and its protagonist laments the loss of a lover and confesses that "love takes time" to heal and that her feelings for her ex-lover remain. It became Carey's second number 1 single in the United States and Canada, but was only a moderate success elsewhere.
Recording
Mariah Carey's debut album for the label was completed and being mastered when she wrote the song with Ben Marguiles. "It was sort of a gospelish thing I was improvising, then we began working on it," Marguiles relates. "It was on a work tape that we had...and we recorded a very quick demo. It was just a piano vocal demo - I played live piano, and she sang it."Carey was on a mini-tour of ten states, playing acoustically with a piano player and three back-up singers. While on a company plane, she played the demo of "Love Takes Time" for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
president Don Ienner
Don Ienner
Don Ienner was the Chairman of the Sony Music Label Group during first half of the decade of the 2000s. He worked closely with his predecessor Tommy Mottola and was partially responsible for the breakthrough of Mariah Carey....
. "All the important guys were on the plane," Marguiles recalls. "Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola
Thomas Daniel "Tommy" Mottola is an American music executive, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group. He is the ex-husband of Mariah Carey and is married to Mexican singer Thalía...
, Ienner, and Bobby Colomby." Carey was told the song was a "career-maker," and that it had to go on the first album. She protested - her album was already being mastered, and she intended this ballad for her next release.
The demo was sent to producer Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff
Walter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
. When Carey flew west to work with 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...
on some tracks for her first album, Tommy Mottola and Don Ienner were impressed with Afanasieff's work and gave him an executive staff producer job with the label.
"I guess to see if he made the right choice, (Tommy) called me up one day," remembers Afanasieff. "He said, 'We've got this Mariah Carey album done, but there's a song that she and Ben Marguiles wrote that is phenomenal, and I want to try everything we can to put it on the album.' I said, 'What do you want me to do?' and he said, 'You only have a couple of days, but are you ready to cut it?' I couldn't believe the opportunity that it was. I'd never produced anything by myself up until that time."
The demo was very close to what Mottola wanted the finished product to be, according to Afanasieff. "We cut the song and the music and the basics in about a day - and the only reason is this deadline. It was do it or we were gonna miss out on the whole thing. We got the tape and recorded everything and we got on the plane and went to New York (and) did her vocals. She did all the backgrounds, practically sang all night...We came back to the studio that afternoon, and we had to fix one line very quickly, and then (engineer) Dana (Jon Chapelle) and I got back on the plane with the tape, went back to the studio in Sausalito, and mixed it. So it was a three-day process: a day and a half for music, kind of like a day for vocals, and a day for mixing."
Afanasieff heard from Columbia executives as soon as they received the mix. They wanted Carey's vocal a little louder, so a remix was quickly completed. The producer asked if the song would still make the debut album, and was told, "We're going to do our best."
When the album was released, "Love Takes Time" was not listed on the cassette or compact disc. "(On) some of the original first copies of the record, they didn't have time to print the name of the song," Marguiles laughs. "And so the song's on there, but it doesn't say that it's on there. It was a song that actually was strong enough to stop the pressing...I don't know if they had to throw away a few hundred copies."
For the release to radio, a second mix was created that muffled Carey's whistle note
Whistle register
The whistle register is the highest register of the human voice, lying above the modal register and falsetto register...
in the background of the song, during the song's bridge. This version of the song appeared in all of the official single releases of "Love Takes Time" in the US and abroad.
Reception
"Love Takes Time" was another success like Carey's debut single "Vision of LoveVision of Love
"Vision of Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It served as Carey's debut single, the first from her self-titled debut album. Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, "Vision of Love" was released on May 15, 1990 by Columbia Records. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for...
" in the United States: it reached number 1 in its ninth week 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 spent three weeks at the top of the chart, from November 10 to November 24, 1990. It spent 17 weeks in the top 40 and the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
certified it gold. It topped every other Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart for which it was eligible (including the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
). Because its success was divided over two calendar years it did not rank high on Billboards year-end charts, making 76 on the 1990 chart and 69 on the 1991 chart.
However, "Love Takes Time" failed to emulate its U.S. success in any other market except Canada, where it topped the 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....
for one week. "Love Takes Time" reached the top ten in New Zealand. It did not make much of an impact elsewhere, becoming a moderate top 20 hit in Australia, and top 40 hit in the UK and the Netherlands, but failed to reach the top 40 in Germany.
The song did not receive as many awards as "Vision of Love", but it still managed to win a BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
R&B Award for Song of the Year and a Songwriter Award.
Music video and other versions
The single's video, directed by Jeb BrienJeb Brien
Jeb Brien is an award winning Executive Producer who has produced and directed television series and specials for some of the most talented artists of a generation, helping to forge their careers through careful imaging and innovative productions....
and Walter Maser, features Carey walking around a beach after a man walks away with luggage in Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice is a beachfront district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors...
. The video is not included on the DVD/home video #1's (1999) because Carey has admitted she is ashamed of it. A live performance of the song filmed at Proctor's Theatre in New York in 1993 was included instead.
Track listings
Worldwide CD single- "Love Takes Time"
- "Sent from Up Above"
UK CD single
- "Love Takes Time"
- "Vanishing"
European CD maxi-single
- "Love Takes Time"
- "Sent from Up Above"
- "Vanishing"
UK CD maxi-single
- "Love Takes Time"
- "Vanishing"
- "You Need Me"
Cover versions
- Philippine idol winner Mau MarceloMau MarceloMaureen "Mau" Flores Marcelo is a Filipina Puertorican R&B soul singer who rose to prominence as the first winner of Philippine Idol in 2006. She was dubbed as the "Soul Idol" and "The Black Belter" at the competition for her R&B-style vocals...
covered the song on her album "I Shine For You" in 2007. - Kelly ClarksonKelly ClarksonKelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
did a cover of this song while performing at a mini tour in 2003.
Peak positions
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 14 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 24 |
| German Singles Chart | 57 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart | 37 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 1 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1990) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 76 |
| End of year chart (1991) | Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 69 |
Sales and certifications
{| class="wikitable" border="1"|-
! Provider
! Certification
|-
| United States (RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
)
| Gold
|-
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1990 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1990 (U.S.)
- R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1990:-Chart history:-Chart comparisons:*Four songs have reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Escapade", "Vision of Love,", "Love Takes Time" and "I'm Your Baby Tonight."-See also:*1990 in music*List of number-one...
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1990