Don't Walk Away (Jade song)

"Don't Walk Away"
Single by Jade
from the album Jade to the Max
ReleasedNovember 23, 1992
Genre
Length
  • 4:44 (album version)
  • 3:37 (with intro edit)
LabelGiant
Songwriter(s)
  • Vassal Benford III
  • Ronald Spearman
Producer(s)
  • Vassal Benford III
  • Ronald Spearman
Jade singles chronology
"I Wanna Love You"
(1992) 		"Don't Walk Away"
(1992) 		"One Woman"
(1993)
Music video
"Don't Walk Away" on YouTube

"Don't Walk Away" is a song by American R&B group Jade, released in November 1992 by Giant Records as the second single from their debut album, Jade to the Max (1992). It samples the drums from Kool & the Gang's 1975 song "Jungle Jazz" and the chords progression from Stevie Wonder's 1982 song "That Girl". The song was both written and produced by Vassal Benford III and Ronald Spearman, and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, it also peaked within the top 10 in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, reaching respectively number seven and nine. Its music video was directed by Eric Meza. The success of the single landed the trio spots on The Tonight Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, and Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number 52 on their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".[3] The bassline of the song was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for the song "Award Tour", from the album Midnight Marauders.[4] The first verse and chorus were interpolated in Diplo and Sleepy Tom's 2015 dance track "Be Right There".[5]

  1. ^ Josephs, Brian (July 20, 2012). "The 25 Best New Jack Swing Songs". Complex. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  2. ^ Billboard Staff (July 10, 2017). "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2024. ..."Don't Walk Away" had a strut without peer in '90s R&B...
  3. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  4. ^ Midnight Marauders--A Tribe Called Quest (1993) Vibe. Accessed on May 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Diplo Unleashes New Collab 'Be Right There' With Sleepy Tom". edm.com. August 21, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2017.