Now_That_We_Found_Love

Now That We Found Love

Now That We Found Love

1973 song by the O'Jays


"Now That We Found Love" (also known as "Now That We've Found Love") is a song written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and originally recorded by American R&B/soul vocal group The O'Jays for their seventh album, Ship Ahoy (1973).[1]

Quick Facts Song by the O'Jays, from the album Ship Ahoy ...
Quick Facts Single by Third World, from the album Journey to Addis ...

Heavy D and the Boyz version

Quick Facts from the album Peaceful Journey, Released ...

American group Heavy D & the Boyz released their very successful dance/house-cover of "Now That We Found Love" in 1991. It was produced by Teddy Riley and remains their biggest hit. The song was released in June by Uptown Records as the second single from their third album, Peaceful Journey (1991), and peaked at number two in the UK and number 11 in the US. Its music video was directed by Drew Carolan.

Chart performance

"Now That We Found Love" was very successful on the singles charts on several continents. In Europe, it reached number three in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. In the latter, the single peaked in its fourth week at the UK Singles Chart, on July 21, 1991.[3] It was held off the top spot by Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You". On the UK Dance Singles Chart, it reached number four. Additionally, the single entered the top 10 also in Austria (8), Belgium (5), Denmark (3), Germany (4), Greece (5), Ireland (6), Norway (6), Spain (5) and Switzerland (4), as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number four in September 1991. Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada, number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In Oceania, "Now That We Found Love" was also a top 10 hit in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number six and ten, respectively.

"Now That We Found Love" was awarded with a gold record in the United States, with a sale of 500,000 singles.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Alex Henderson complimented the Heavy D & the Boyz version as "melodic", and "fun and escapist in nature".[4] J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun wrote, "If the Hevster can keep serving up singles as infectious as "Now That We Found Love", he'll get few complaints."[5] Larry Flick from Billboard viewed it as a "fab hip-house interpretation" and "an invigorating peak-hour anthem".[6] He also noted that the producer "adds a mainstream gloss that could spark a top 40 breakthrough hit."[7] Henderson and DeVancy for Cashbox stated that this is a song "to look out for".[8] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly called it a "fast-paced hip-house jam".[9] Zane from Melody Maker wrote, "Everything that made the original so special is lovingly reproduced with only a smattering of new noises and beats spun in. A perfect party tune."[10] James Hamilton from Music Week named it Pick of the Week in the category of Dance, declaring it as a "jaunty singalong stereo rap".[11] Eric Deggans from The Pittsburgh Press described it as "reggae-flavored".[12] Martin Aston from the Record Mirror Dance Update felt that the track "has been given a bouncy, slick gloss, with a typically snappy slice of rap from the heavyweight poet."[13] Marc Andrews from Smash Hits complimented it as "rap at its most jolly and fun-filled".[14]

Retrospective response

In an 2021 retrospective review, Jesse Ducker from Albumism described "Now That We Found Love" as "a catchy and extremely successful pairing with producer Riley, featuring Aaron Hall’s powerful vocals on the chorus. The song takes some of its inspiration from the O'Jays' song of the same name, but has the most in common with reggae group Third World’s version of the track. Heavy D plays to his strengths here, celebrating the love he’s cultivated and finding new ways to explore its dynamics."[15] In 2017, BuzzFeed ranked it number 59 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s".[16] Australian music channel Max included it in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2013.[17]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Now That We Found Love" was directed by Drew Carolan,[18] featuring Heavy D and dancers performing in an urban backstreet. The dancers are wearing yellow raincoats. At the beginning, as the singer performs, a woman glances through a blind in her window. Later she emerges on a balcony, watching the singer. Heavy D is mostly seen wearing a red jacket, but also occasionally wears a raincoat in various colors, such as black and green. Several guys on the street are playing games with cards or dice. A DJ plays with his turntable and people are dancing. Towards the end, the woman comes walking on the street, meeting Heavy D. Then the two are walking away together from the partying crowd on the street. The video was later made available on Heavy D's official YouTube channel in 2009, and had generated more than 47 million views as of March 2024.[19]

Track listing

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Charts

More information Chart (1991), Peak position ...

Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...

Notable cover versions


References

  1. "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  2. Henderson, Alex. "Heavy D & the Boyz - Peaceful Journey". AllMusic. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  3. Considine, J.D. (1991). "Heavy D & the Boyz – Peaceful Journey". Baltimore Sun – via Star Tribune. (July 23, 1991).
  4. Flick, Larry (June 22, 1991). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 71. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  5. Henderson, Alex; DeVancy, Bryan (July 13, 1991). "Pop Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. p. 5. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  6. Bernard, James (August 2, 1991). "Peaceful Journey". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  7. Zane (July 27, 1991). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  8. Hamilton, James (June 22, 1991). "Dance: Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  9. Deggans, Eric (October 20, 1991). "Recordings: "Peaceful Journey" Heavy D. and the Boyz". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  10. Aston, Martin (July 6, 1991). "DJ Directory: Heavy D & the Boyz" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 4. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  11. Andrews, Marc (August 7, 1991). "Review: LPs". Smash Hits. p. 46. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  12. Ducker, Jesse (July 1, 2021). "Heavy D & The Boyz' 'Peaceful Journey' Turns 30 — Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  13. Stopera, Matt; Galindo, Brian (March 11, 2017). "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  14. "Now That We Found Love (1991) by Heavy D. & The Boyz". IMVDb.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  15. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 39. September 28, 1991. p. 29. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 39. September 28, 1991. p. 31. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  17. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  18. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 40. October 5, 1991. p. 21. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 33, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  20. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 41. October 12, 1991. p. 30. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  21. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 6, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  22. "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1991". ARIA. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  23. "Jaaroverzichten 1991" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. December 21, 1991. p. 21. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  25. "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. December 21, 1991. p. 20. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  26. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  27. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1991". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1991" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  29. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1991" (in German). Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  30. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. January 11, 1992. p. 20.
  31. "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-14.
  32. "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  33. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 575.

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