"Ain't Nobody" is a song by American funk band Rufus and American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on November 4, 1983, as one of four studio tracks included on their live album, Stompin' at the Savoy (1983). "Ain't Nobody" quickly gathered popularity, and reached number one on the US BillboardR&B chart and number 22 on the US BillboardHot 100.[1] It has become one of Khan's signature songs.
Rufus keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski wrote the song around a repeating synthesizer loop backed by a Linn LM-1 drum computer; however, John "JR" Robinson, the band's drummer, played real drums for the recording session. The band held a democratic vote and they decided to include the song in their album repertoire. Once the song was recorded, Warner executives wanted to issue another song as the album's first single.[citation needed] Wolinski threatened to give the song to singer Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones for Jackson's album Thriller if the song was not the lead-off single. The label relented and "Ain't Nobody" was issued and hit number one on the R&B chart for the week ending October 15, 1983.[2]
The song was included on the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Breakin'.[3] In 2021, "Ain't Nobody" was ranked number 403 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4] The song was adopted in the United Kingdom by fans of some of the country's football clubs, with the words: Ain't nobody loves (player), makes me happy, makes me feel this way..
The song is performed in the key of E♭ minor with a tempo of 104 beats per minute in common time. Khan's vocals span from G♭3 to E♭5 in the song.[5][6]
In 1994, British singer-songwriter Jaki Graham released her cover of "Ain't Nobody". It was released as the first and lead single from her fourth and last album, Real Life (1994). Graham's version reached number one on the US BillboardDance Chart for five weeks[17] as well as being in the Top 5 favourite videos for BET (Black Entertainment Charts). The single also reached number 44 in the UK, number 11 in Iceland[18] and number 17 in Australia.
Critical reception[]
Larry Flick from Billboard called the song "smashing", and stated that Graham "returns with a grand reading of a Rufuspop/soulnugget. Track is the latest in an onslaught of competitive versions of the song by various divas. This one, however, is the real deal, thanks to Graham's considerable charm as well as a plethora of mixes that range from peppy NRG to muscular house. A sure-fire club hit, don't be surprised if crossover radio beckons."[19] English newspaper Reading Evening Post commented, "This is one of those covers that doesn't really improve on the original. But the Chaka Khan song is a soul classic and Jaki Graham gives it a good shot, even if her voice doesn't seem quite powerful enough for its bitter-sweet melodrama. A hard one not to sing along with."[20]
Music video[]
The music video for "Ain't Nobody" was directed by American film director and producer Antoine Fuqua.[21]
Track listings[]
CD single, US (1994)
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Ain't Nobody" (Radio Edit)
4:06
2.
"Ain't Nobody" (Dave Way Radio Remix)
4:20
3.
"Ain't Nobody" (Love To Infinity Classic Paradise Mix)
In 1995, Jamaican singer-songwriter Diana King recorded a cover single of "Ain't Nobody", released as the third single from her debut album, Tougher Than Love (1995). It peaked at number 95 on the BillboardHot 100, number four on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.
Critical reception[]
Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "sexy hip hop interpretation" and "irresistible", complimenting King's "assured performance".[31]James Masterton for Dotmusic said, "Now it is the turn of Diana King's soft reggaefied version to crash into the charts, give her another hit and prolong the life of a quite brilliant pop song."[32] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented that the follow-up to "Shy Guy" sees the Jamaican vocalist "lose some of her rough dancehall edges in favour of a smoother R&B sound", adding that the chorus is "pure, uplifting modern soul."[33] A reviewer from Music Week rated it three out of five, writing, "A fairly standard cover of the Chaka Khan classic, with strong production. She might just convert some more fans."[34] Ralph Tee from the magazine's RM Dance Update stated, "'Shy Guy' turned out to be an international smash and this follow-up has similar crossover opportunities."[35]
Music video[]
A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American film, television, commercial and music video director Kevin Bray.[36] It was later published on King's official YouTube channel in October 2009. The video has amassed almost 2 million views as of September 2021.[37]
Track listings[]
CD single, UK (1995)
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Aint Nobody" (Radio Version)
3:44
2.
"Aint Nobody" (Album Version)
5:23
3.
"Aint Nobody" (David's Extended Club Mega Mix)
4.
"Medley (Love Triangle / Tougher Than Love / Tumble Down)"
Rapper LL Cool J recorded an interpolation of the song for the soundtrack to the 1996 film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. Released as the soundtrack's second single, the song peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot Rap Singles Chart and number 27 on the BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Outside of the United States, the song topped the charts in the United Kingdom,[53] where the song was also a hit for Gwen Dickey and KWS (reaching number 21) and The Course (number eight).[citation needed]
In 2003, English-Irish pop group Liberty X released a version of the song titled "Being Nobody", produced by Richard X, as the lead single from Richard X's debut studio album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1 (2003), as well as the lead single from Liberty X's second studio album, Being Somebody (2003). The song is a pseudo-mashup, taking the lyrics of "Ain't Nobody" and placing them over an instrumental interpolation of The Human League's "Being Boiled". Additional elements from both songs were also used such as the recurring synth line from "Ain't Nobody" and the line "OK, ready? Let's do it." in the intro of the main mix are from the intro of "Being Boiled".
Liberty X first performed "Being Nobody" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on February 8, 2003.[70] They also performed it twice on Top of the Pops, with other performances on The National Lottery Wright Ticket and CD:UK.
Critical reception[]
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics. It was deemed "instantly memorable" by RTÉ.ie reviewer Linda McGee,[71] whilst Louis Pattison of NME believed it was "Truly, a record to get over-excited about."[72] Alexis Kirke of musicOMH said: "The marriage of the credible dance-bootleg production of Richard X with high profile pop-act Liberty X is not only a perfect career-expanding synergy for both, but also a powerful musical synergy in which the seventies meets the eighties during the noughties."[73] Writing for ukmix.org, Martin P gave the song five stars out of five and called it "It's pure pop perfection with a twist of R&B – one of the best Liberty X singles!"[74]
"It's a Biz (Ain't Nobody)" is a single by Germanhard dance band Scooter. It was released on March 23, 2012, as the fifth single from their fifteenth studio album, The Big Mash Up (2011).
In 2015, German music producer and DJ Felix Jaehn released a remix titled "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" featuring vocals by British singer Jasmine Thompson.[93] It is the lead single for his eponymous 2016 debut EP, Felix Jaehn. The remix was based on a solo release of the song by Thompson in 2013, when Thompson was 13, which had peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the Felix Jaehn remix became a far bigger international chart success, peaking at number one or two in a number of European countries (including number two in the United Kingdom) as well as the top 10 in other European countries and Australia.[94]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201532 into search.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201531 into search.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2018. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. September 21, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2018. Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201532 into search.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201529 into search.