Easy Lover

This article is about the rock music song. For the synth pop song, see Easy Lover (Ellie Goulding song).

"Easy Lover"
Front cover of UK 7-inch single
Single by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
from the album Chinese Wall
B-side"Woman"
Released6 November 1984 (US)
21 February 1985 (UK)[1]
Recorded1984
Genre
Length4:54 (single version)
5:03 (album version)
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Phil Collins
Philip Bailey singles chronology
"Photogenic Memory"
(1984) 		"Easy Lover"
(1984) 		"Walking on the Chinese Wall"
(1984)
Phil Collins singles chronology
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"
(1984) 		"Easy Lover"
(1984) 		"Sussudio"
(1985)
Music video
"Easy Lover" on YouTube

"Easy Lover" is a song performed by Philip Bailey of the band Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins of the band Genesis, jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East. The song appears on Bailey's solo album, Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts, and it appears on both his 1990 album, Serious Hits... Live!, and his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits. It is Bailey's only US Top 40 hit as a solo artist.

The song was a No. 1 hit in several countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the U.S., it spent 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including 7 weeks in the Top 10, and peaked at No. 2 the weeks of 2 February 1985 and 9 February 1985, behind the chart-topping "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached No. 1, staying there for four weeks.[3] The single sold over a million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold,[4] as the RIAA requirement for a platinum single disc was not lowered to one million units until 1989.[5] In addition, "Easy Lover" has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Music Canada. Despite Collins' popularity in Australia, its lowly position on that country's charts was because of a record company dispute.

"Easy Lover" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985 and was Grammy Award nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1986.[6][7]

The song was also used as the theme song for the World Wrestling Federation's first ever WrestleMania, it was used in the opening of the show but later versions removed this due to licensing issues.

  1. ^ "BPI certifications".
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (25 September 2020). "The Number Ones: Phil Collins' "One More Night". Stereogum. Retrieved 30 July 2023. ..."Easy Lover," the first single from that album, was a duet from the two Phils. It became a yuppie-soul smash...
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 447. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ "Philip Bailey: Chinese Wall". riaa.com. RIAA.
  5. ^ "Rock Music, etc., Terms". spider.georgetowncollege.edu. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. ^ "MTV Video Music Awards History: Best Overall Performance". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 29 March 2014.