"La-La (Means I Love You)" is an R&B/soul song by American vocal group the Delfonics. Released originally in December, 1967 by Philly Groove Records, the song was written by Thom Bell and William Hart, and produced by Bell and Stan Watson.
| "La-La (Means I Love You)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Delfonics | ||||
| from the album La La Means I Love You | ||||
| B-side | "Can't Get Over Losing You" | |||
| Released | December, 1967 (US) January 26, 1968 (UK, elsewhere) | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Genre | Philadelphia soul[1] | |||
| Length | 3:21 | |||
| Label | Philly Groove | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Thom Bell, William Hart | |||
| Producer(s) | Thom Bell, Stan Watson | |||
| The Delfonics singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe song was a number four U.S. Billboard pop, number two R&B hit in 1968. A 1971 re-release peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is one of the Delfonics' most enduring recordings and perhaps their best loved, noting a number of cover versions.
Charts
edit| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles[3] | 2 |
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[4] | 19 |
Other versions
edit- Booker T. & the M.G.'s covered an instrumental version of the song in their 1968 album, Soul Limbo.[5]
- The Jackson 5 covered the song in their 1970 album, ABC,[6] and it was featured in their early 1970s Saturday morning cartoon.
- American actress Connie Stevens covered the song in 1971 during a short-lived stint as an R&B singer, with Thom Bell producing.[7]
- Egyptian rock group Les Petits Chats (aka The Cats) released a version b/w "With a Little Help from My Friends" in 1971 on the Sono Cairo label.[8][9]
- Todd Rundgren covered the song, as a medley of soul songs on his 1973 album, A Wizard, a True Star.[10]
- Samantha Sang covered "La-La (Means I Love You)" on her 1978 LP, Emotion.[11]
- In 1981, Tierra covered the song on their album, "Together Again".[12]
- Family group The Jets covered it in 1985 in for their self-titled album.[13]
- Laura Nyro covered the song, as a medley, on her 1988 live album laura:) live at the bottom line.[14]
- Swing Out Sister covered the song in their 1994 album The Living Return.[15]
- The Manhattan Transfer covered the song in their 1995 album Tonin'.[16]
- Prince covered the song in his 1996 album Emancipation, retitling the song "La, La, La Means 👁 Love U".[17]
Samples
edit- In 2004, rapper Ghostface Killah also sampled "La-La" for his song "Holla" from his album, The Pretty Toney Album.
Pop culture
edit- Billy Bragg quotes the chorus of the song on "The Saturday Boy" from his 1984 album, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg.
- The song was featured in Spike Lee's 1994 film, Crooklyn.
- It also appeared in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film, Jackie Brown.
- Brett Ratner‘s 2000 film, The Family Man, Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) sang this song to Kate (Téa Leoni).
References
edit- ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 382. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 229.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 153.
- ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ Connie Stevens - LA LA MEANS I LOVE YOU (1971). Anthony Reichardt. March 4, 2021. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Cats - With A Little Help From My Friend". Discogs.com. 1971. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Very Rare Arabic Egyptian Funk 45 The Cats La La La Means I Love You 31-71363 - auction details". Popsike.com. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". AllMusic. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "www.discogs.com". discogs.com. 1981. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 25, 2022.