Back Stabbers (song)

"Back Stabbers"
Side A of US vinyl single
Single by the O'Jays
from the album Back Stabbers
B-side"Sunshine"
ReleasedAugust 1972 (1972-08)
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre
Length3:06
LabelPhiladelphia International
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The O'Jays singles chronology
"Looky Looky (Look at Me Girl)"
(1970)
"Back Stabbers"
(1972)
"992 Arguments"
(1972)
Music video
"Back Stabbers" on YouTube

"Back Stabbers" is a 1972 song by the O'Jays. Released from the hit album of the same name, it spent one week at number 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It was also successful on the pop chart, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1972.[1] The narrator in "Back Stabbers" warns men about their male "friends" who smile to their faces, but are secretly planning to steal their wives or girlfriends.[2] It was inspired by an earlier hit with a similar theme, the Undisputed Truth's "Smiling Faces Sometimes", the chorus of which is quoted at the end of this song. It was part of the soundtrack for the 1977 movie, Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 2002, the song was sampled by R&B artist Angie Stone for her single "Wish I Didn't Miss You".

This was the O'Jays first release with Philadelphia International.[3]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Joel Whitburn Presents Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles, 1942-2004. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research. p. 438. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Back Stabbers" at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  3. ^ "The O'Jays | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". Rockhall.com. Retrieved 2020-02-01.