| "The Closer I Get to You" | ||||
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 A-side label of U.S. vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway | ||||
| from the album Blue Lights in the Basement | ||||
| B-side | "Love Is the Healing" | |||
| Released | February 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
| Length | 4:41 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Roberta Flack singles chronology | ||||
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| Donny Hathaway singles chronology | ||||
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"The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis's band, who were members of Flack's band at the time. Produced by Atlantic Records, the song was released on Flack's 1977 album Blue Lights in the Basement, and as a single in 1978. It became a major crossover hit, becoming Flack's biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single, "Killing Me Softly with His Song". Originally set as a solo single, Flack's manager, David Franklin, suggested a duet with Hathaway, which resulted in the finished work.
"The Closer I Get to You" spent two weeks as number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in April 1978, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 behind Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" and Wings' "With a Little Luck." The song charted in the top ten spots for fourteen weeks in Canada and one week in France. It was eventually certified gold in the United States in May 1978, and became one of their most familiar duets.
At the 21st Annual Grammy Awards given in 1979, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus with the award going to the Bee Gees for their work in the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Flack and Hathaway had won the same award six years before for "Where is the Love".