I Need You Tonight

Album: Lights Out (1984)
Charted: 36
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • After serving as frontman for the J. Geils Band from their formation in 1967, Peter Wolf left the band in 1983, launching a solo career with his 1984 album Lights Out. Following the title track, this was Wolf's second single.

    The song is about a man carrying on an affair with a woman he can only see occasionally but can no longer wait for. Thanks to the clips for the J. Geils Band songs Centerfold and Freeze-Frame, Wolf was a familiar face on MTV, and his video for "I Need You Tonight" got significant airplay. In the clip, Wolf plays a man smitten with a married woman whose husband is a wealthy and dangerous gangster. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
  • Wolf wrote this song with Peter Bliss, whose other credits include "Heart Attack" for Olivia Newton-John and "Emotion" for Barbra Streisand.

Comments: 1

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1984 {November 18th} Peter Wolf's "I Need You Tonight" peaked at #36 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, and it spent eleven weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #22 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart...
    Besides "I Need You Tonight", The Bronx, NY native, as a solo artist, had five other Top 100 records: "Lights Out" {#12 in 1984}, "Oo-Ee-Diddley-Bop!" {#61 in 1985}, "Come As You Are" {#15 in 1987}, "Can't Get Started" {#75 in 1987}, and "99 Worlds" {#77 in 1990)...
    As lead vocalist of the J. Geils Band he charted eighteen times, two made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "Centerfold", for 6 weeks in 1982, and the band's other Top 10 record was "Freeze-Frame", it peaked at #4 {for 4 weeks} in 1982...
    Peter Wolf, born Peter Blankfield, will celebrate his 74th birthday come next March 7th, 2020...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Bass Player Scott Edwards

Bass Player Scott EdwardsSong Writing

Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."

Chris Fehn of Slipknot

Chris Fehn of SlipknotSongwriter Interviews

A drummer for one of the most successful metal bands of the last decade, Chris talks about what it's like writing and performing with Slipknot. Metal-neck is a factor.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.