The Way You Love Me

Album: Karyn White (1988)
Charted: 42 7
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Songfacts®:

  • In her debut single, Karyn White has finally found a man who treats her right and she wants everyone to know it. The song, a funky mix of hip-hop beats and jazz elements, was written and produced by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio "L.A." Reid, and Daryl Simmons, purveyors of the New Jack Swing movement of the late '80s and early '90s. The R&B hitmakers first spotted White in the video for "Facts Of Love," a 1986 collaboration with jazz fusion keyboardist Jeff Lorber, and were impressed by her unique sound. When the producers were offered their pick of Warner Bros. acts, including seasoned artists like Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau, they chose newcomer White.
  • White remembers when Reid and Babyface first sent her the demo. She told Billboard: "They were singing it, and at the beginning of the tape they said, 'Karyn White, welcome to the top.'"
  • According to Babyface, this features the same string line as "Rock Steady," the 1987 hit he and Reid wrote and produced for The Whispers.
  • This was White's first #1 hit on the R&B chart and it also peaked at #5 on the dance tally.
  • The music video, shot in Los Angeles, features White singing and dancing along the beach and hitting the local shops. She attracts attention from lots of male dancers and, in particular, a ponytailed guy driving a convertible.
  • This earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, but lost to Anita Baker's "Giving You The Best That I Got."
  • "'The Way You Love Me' was the last song we recorded for the album," White told SoulCulture in 2012. "I remember LA saying that we needed an uptempo banger because we already had 'Secret Rendezvous,' which was a pop record influenced by Prince's sound... I love the whole scatting part of the song because it reminded me a little bit of Natalie Cole. It made me happy while recording it."

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