I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
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| "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" | ||||
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| Single by Michael McDonald | ||||
| from the album If That's What It Takes | ||||
| B-side | "Losin' End" | |||
| Released | August 1982 | |||
| Recorded | Warner Bros. Recording Studio (North Hollywood, Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Michael McDonald singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" on YouTube | ||||
"I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" (also known as "I Keep Forgettin'") is a 1982 song by American musician Michael McDonald, from his debut studio album If That's What It Takes (1982). It was written by McDonald and Ed Sanford. Released as a single, it peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Singles charts, No. 7 R&B and No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Similarity to Chuck Jackson's 1962 song "I Keep Forgettin'", composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, resulted in Leiber and Stoller also being given a songwriting credit for the song.
Background
[edit]Michael McDonald recorded it with his sister Maureen McDonald providing backing vocals. It was featured on If That's What It Takes, his first solo studio album away from the Doobie Brothers.
Greg Phillinganes, Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro played the clavinet, guitar and drums respectively. Bassist Louis Johnson, from the Brothers Johnson, laid down the song's pronounced bassline.
Influence, covers, and sampling
[edit]McDonald's song was heavily sampled by Warren G on his hit 1994 single "Regulate", featuring Nate Dogg, and by Jadakiss on "Kiss Is Spittin'", which also features Nate Dogg. Young MC sampled it on his song "Love You Slow" from his third studio album What's the Flavor?. Dave Hollister covered the song on his debut solo studio album Ghetto Hymns, where it's titled "Keep Forgettin'" and is slowed down noticeably but keeps the same lyrics. The song's chorus is interpolated by Moloko in an acoustic mix of their 2003 hit single "Familiar Feeling". The song's bassline also was sampled in the track "Next to You" by the nu-disco and chillwave duo Poolside. English singer-songwriter Julia Fordham performed the song in duet with McDonald on her eighth studio album China Blue (2008). Patti LaBelle covered the song on her 2005 studio album Classic Moments titled as "I Keep Forgetting". In 2011, Bosnian-German DJ Solomun sampled the song on ''Love Recycled''. Laura Jane Grace, lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!, performed a live version of the song in April 2015 for A.V. Undercover web series.[3]
Personnel
[edit]- Michael McDonald – lead vocals; electric piano
- Steve Lukather – guitar
- Greg Phillinganes – clavinet
- Louis Johnson – bass guitar
- Jeff Porcaro – drums
- Maureen McDonald – backing vocals
Chart history
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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In popular culture
[edit]The song was also used during the Condoleezza Rice dance segment on You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.
The song is the primary plot device of, and gives its name to, an episode of Yacht Rock, which comedically fictionalized the events leading to Warren G sampling it.
References
[edit]- ^ Pitchfork Staff (August 24, 2015). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s". Pitchfork.
Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" is a quiet storm classic ...
- ^ Molanphy, Chris (July 31, 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Laura Jane Grace covers Michael McDonald (and The Cure)". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2015-10-25. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 185. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1982-10-16. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1982-11-06. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
- ^ "Michael McDonald Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 30, 1982". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ Musicoutfitters.com
- ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1982". Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
External links
[edit]- "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" at Discogs (list of releases)
