"Imaginary Lover" | ||||
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Single by Atlanta Rhythm Section | ||||
from the album Champagne Jam | ||||
B-side | "Silent Treatment" | |||
Released | February 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Genre | Soft rock • Southern rock[1] | |||
Length | 4:10 (Single Version) 5:05 (Album Version) | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Buie/Nix/Daughtry | |||
Producer(s) | Buie | |||
Atlanta Rhythm Section singles chronology | ||||
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"Imaginary Lover" is a 1978 hit single by the Atlanta Rhythm Section, the first release and greatest hit from their album Champagne Jam.
The song reached number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 in Canada. It is the group's second greatest hit, just behind "So in to You".
"Imaginary Lover" extols the virtues of fantasy and "private pleasure" as being an easy way to guaranteed satisfaction in the absence of an actual lover. It also implies the superiority at times of imaginary lovers to real ones, eliminating the complications of relating to an actual partner as well as the possibilities of disagreement, rejection, or boredom.
Nancy Sinatra included this on her 1998 album, Sheet Music.