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To Be with You

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = To Be with You

| cover = To_be_with_you.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Mr. Big

| album = Lean into It

| B-side = Green-Tinted Sixties Mind

| released =

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = *Glam metal

*soft rock

| length = 3:27

| label = Atlantic

| writer =

* Eric Martin

* David Grahame

| producer = Kevin Elson

| prev_title = Green-Tinted Sixties Mind

| prev_year = 1991

| next_title = Just Take My Heart

| next_year = 1992

| misc =

}}

"'To Be with You'" is a song by American rock band Mr. Big. The ballad was released in November 1991 as the second single from their second album, 'Lean into It' (1991). The song reached number one on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the charts in 11 other countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand.

Background and writing



The song was written and composed by Eric Martin during his teen years, with guitarist Paul Gilbert contributing to its melodic arrangements later on. Writing credit is also given to David Grahame, a songwriter working for the label at the time. The lyrics were inspired by a girl Martin knew when he was younger: "This girl had a lot of boyfriends who treated her like shit. I wanted to be the knight in shining armor, wanted to be with her. She wasn't having it. It never came to play."

While in Gilbert's apartment at Yucca Street in L.A., he and Martin were laying out their compositions. Martin had a ballad called "To Be with You". Gilbert had his psychedelic rock song called "Green Tinted Sixties Mind". Both felt the two songs were strong enough to be included in their upcoming album, despite it being purely rock; and true enough, these songs remained throughout the course of their career as a group and as solo artists.

Critical reception



Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described the song as a "campfire-singalong ballad". Larry Flick from 'Billboard' noted that "headbangers get folky on this harmonious strummer". He added that "hand-clapping, sing-along chorus entices, while front man Eric Martin's voice has rarely sounded sweeter". Bryan DeVaney and Randy Clark from 'Cashbox' called it "an unplugged, acoustic guitar and harmony sing-along single". They also said that Martin "sounds like the quintessential rocker and is backed by some excellent non-electric guitar-picking by guitarist Paul Gilbert, managing to sound very adept without an electric drill for a pick". Janiss Garza from 'Entertainment Weekly' stated that "this simple little ballad" is by far the best song on the 'Lean into It' album.

Music video



The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Nancy Bennett and features the band performing in a railroad car.[http://www.mvdbase.com/person.php?id=A6412 Mr. Big artist videography] mvdbase.com The video changes from black and white to color around the halfway mark.

Track listings



* '7-inch single'

# "To Be with You" (LP version) (3:27)

# "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (LP version) (3:30)



* '12-inch maxi'

# "To Be with You"

# "A Little Too Loose" (live)

# "The Drill Song (Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy)" (live)

# "Alive and Kickin'" (live)

* 'CD maxi'

# "To Be with You" (3:27)

# "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (3:30)

# "Alive and Kickin'" (5:28)

Personnel



* Eric Martin lead vocals

* Paul Gilbert acoustic guitar, handclaps, backing vocals

* Billy Sheehan bass guitar, handclaps, bass drum, backing vocals

* Pat Torpey tambourine, bass drum, handclaps, backing vocals

Charts



Weekly charts



Year-end charts



Decade-end charts



Certifications



Release history



Westlife version



Irish boy band Westlife recorded a cover of the song and released it on their 'Turnaround' album in 2003 and performed it live subsequently. It was also performed in their 2003 Unbreakable Tour.

References






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