Thinking Of You

Album: We Are Family (1979)
Charted: 11
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Songfacts®:

  • "Thinking of You" was originally recorded for Sister Sledge's 1979 album We Are Family. Like the rest of the record, it was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the band Chic. Originally released in the US as a B-side of "Lost In Music," it became a belated British hit in 1984.
  • Nile Rogers regards Sister Sledge's We Are Family album as the Chic organization's greatest achievement, with "Thinking Of You" as the cherry on the cake.
  • Kim Sledge is a big fan of the tune too. She told Uncut magazine, "It's my absolute favorite song that's we ever recorded. You can go anywhere with it. Regardless of the audience, demographics, age groups, cultures, it's one of those songs that is just so full of love and encouragement. When we sing it I get happy."
  • The recording of the song was a bit of a battle for Sister Sledge. Kathy Sledge recalled to Uncut, "Nile and Bernard were the directors, but they wouldn't let me study the script. I get it now, because one with things that so magic about thinking of you is its spontaneity. It was an amazing way to work. Frustrating at the time, but I get it now. They knew what they were listening for, and if I sang It different they'd stop me and say, no, no, no."
  • Nile Rogers encouraged Kathy Sledge's vocal extemporization towards the end. She recalled: "I was used to producers telling me just do your thing, and I would scream all over the place. I was able to do that a little at the very end of Thinking Of You, on the ad-lib track. They let me go at the end and then edited it and spliced it in to how they wanted it."
  • "Thinking Of You" has been a Top 20 hit in the UK on two subsequent occasions. A version by Maureen Walsh peaked at #11 in 1990, while Paul Weller's cover made #18 in 2004.
  • "Thinking Of You" came top of mind during the pandemic in 2020 when it was used as the theme song for an Instagram series called Club Quarantine, which featured DJ sets and meetups with guests like Jennifer Lopez, Oprah, Michelle Obama and Steph Curry.

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