"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" | ||||
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Single by Lenny Kravitz | ||||
from the album Mama Said | ||||
B-side | "I'll Be Around" | |||
Released | June 3, 1991 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:55 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lenny Kravitz | |||
Producer(s) | Lenny Kravitz | |||
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" on YouTube |
"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Lenny Kravitz for his second studio album, Mama Said (1991). Released as the album's second single in June 1991 by Virgin, the song is a mid-tempo ballad musically inspired by Motown, Philly soul, and Earth, Wind & Fire (particularly "That's the Way of the World"). The horn line at the end is performed by the Phenix Horns from Earth, Wind & Fire. "That song just came out one day, and I knew it had a classic vibe. And I still love that song very much today," Kravitz said in an interview for VivaMusic.com in 2000.[1] The line is based on a Yogiism, or quotation from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over."[2]
"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" was Kravitz's first top-10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 2 to become his highest-peaking song on the chart. Worldwide, the single reached No. 2 in Canada and peaked within the top 10 in Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, it reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Jesse Dylan directed its music video. British singer Mutya Buena's 2007 song "Real Girl" contains a sample from "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over";[3] this recording peaked at No. 2 on the UK chart.[4]