While You See a Chance
Encyclopedia
"While You See a Chance" is a song performed by Steve Winwood
in 1980, who also wrote it alongside Will Jennings
. It was released on his album Arc of a Diver
and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100
in April 1981, and also reached #68 on the Billboard Top 100 for the year 1981, however it only reached #45 in the UK
.
One of the song's most iconic features, its keyboard introduction, was not originally intended to be part of the song. The track was thrown together fairly quickly after Winwood discovered that he had accidentally deleted his intended drum track introduction while preparing for vocals. He wrote a new introduction on the spot as a replacement.
Many radio stations, when the song was released, played the version of the single used in the video, which cut the song's length from 5 minutes 13 seconds to 3 minutes 53 seconds. The edit occurs in the middle of the song, immediately following the lyric "Don't you wonder how you keep on moving? One more day, your way." One can distinguish the two versions at this point: in the full version, Winwood follows this line by repeating the words "Oh, your way", while in the short version, an instrumental passage follows immediately.
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
in 1980, who also wrote it alongside Will Jennings
Will Jennings
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
. It was released on his album Arc of a Diver
Arc of a Diver
Arc of a Diver is the second solo album by blue-eyed soulster Steve Winwood. The album was performed entirely by Winwood.Featuring Winwood's first solo hit, "While You See a Chance" , this was Winwood's true breakthrough album as a solo artist...
and peaked at #7 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...
in April 1981, and also reached #68 on the Billboard Top 100 for the year 1981, however it only reached #45 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
One of the song's most iconic features, its keyboard introduction, was not originally intended to be part of the song. The track was thrown together fairly quickly after Winwood discovered that he had accidentally deleted his intended drum track introduction while preparing for vocals. He wrote a new introduction on the spot as a replacement.
Many radio stations, when the song was released, played the version of the single used in the video, which cut the song's length from 5 minutes 13 seconds to 3 minutes 53 seconds. The edit occurs in the middle of the song, immediately following the lyric "Don't you wonder how you keep on moving? One more day, your way." One can distinguish the two versions at this point: in the full version, Winwood follows this line by repeating the words "Oh, your way", while in the short version, an instrumental passage follows immediately.