I Want You to Want Me

"I Want You to Want Me"

Epic 50435
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album In Color
B-side "Oh Boy (Instrumental Version)"
Released September 1977 (1977-09)
Format 7-inch single
Recorded Kendun Recorders,
Los Angeles, 1977
Genre Power pop[1]
Length 3:07
Label Epic
Writer(s) Rick Nielsen
Producer(s) Tom Werman
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"Oh, Candy"
(1977)		 "I Want You to Want Me"
(1977)		 "Southern Girls"
(1977)
"I Want You to Want Me"

Epic 50680
Single by Cheap Trick
from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan
B-side "Clock Strikes Ten"
Released April 1979 (1979-04)
Format 7-inch single
Recorded Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
April 1978
Genre Hard rock, power pop
Length 3:38
Label Epic
Writer(s) Rick Nielsen
Producer(s) Cheap Trick
Certification Gold
Cheap Trick singles chronology
"California Man"
(1978)		 "I Want You to Want Me"
(1979)		 "Ain't That a Shame"
(1979)

"I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick from their second album In Color, released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United States.

"I Want You to Want Me" was a number-one single in Japan.[2][3] Its success in Japan, as well as the success of its preceding single "Clock Strikes Ten" paved the way for Cheap Trick's concerts at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in April 1978 that were recorded for the group's most popular album, Cheap Trick at Budokan.[4] A live version of "I Want You to Want Me" from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan was released in 1979 and became their biggest selling single, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing sales of one million records. In Canada, it reached #2 in on the RPM national singles chart, remaining there for two weeks[6] and was certified Gold for the sale of 5,000 singles in September 1979.[7] It was also the band's highest charting single in Britain, where it reached #29.

Cheap Trick bass player Tom Petersson told Classic Rock magazine:

"My recollection is that [songwriter Rick Nielsen] did that song as a bit of a joke, because at the time when we had done that song there was a lot of pop music on the radio—ABBA, and all sorts of things, disco, [Rick thought] 'I'm just going to do an over-the-top pop song. I just want to do one that's so silly—total pop—and then we'll do a heavy version of it.' He didn't know what was going to happen with it. The idea was to have it like a heavy metal pop song. Cheap Trick doing ABBA—except a very heavy version."

Rick Nielsen explains his perspective behind the song:

"I just pictured myself in a big, overstuffed chair, and my dad turned on the TV; there were like three stations. I wanted to watch Gabby Hayes – he was a cowboy. I always wanted what wasn’t there, so I think that’s what made me inquisitive throughout my whole life. When you wanted Gabby, Gabby’s not there; when you want your dad, your dad is not there. It was the easiest lyric I could think of. And I wish I were that stupid more often. It’s like Van Morrison – with some of his old songs it didn’t matter what the lyrics meant, it’s how they sounded."

Years later, Nielsen and Petersson criticized the lightweight production of "I Want You to Want Me" as it originally appeared on their second album, In Color. Cheap Trick went as far as to mostly re-record that album in 1998. Producer Tom Werman explains:

"'I Want You To Want Me' was a fabulous dancehall type of song, and a perfect pop tune, and it was meant to be a little campy. I put the piano on—a guy named Jai Winding played it. I remember asking the band what they thought of it, and Rick Nielsen kind of shrugged and said, 'You’re the producer.'" Further: "It was a burlesque song, like a 30’s number. That is what they wrote it as."

Version differences

The live version has a higher tempo than the album version, which contributed to its success. However, the album version features an echo at the verse "Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin' (cryin)". This echo does not appear in the live version. The crowd, however, emulates the echo by chanting "cryin'". The live version consists of two guitar solos, while the studio version has a piano fill as a second instrumental. Between 1976 and 1977, Cheap Trick recorded a version played in the style that they did in concerts in 1975 and 1976. It was played with dramatic vocals, high tempo and two guitar solos. It was released in 1996. The earliest version of the song was played in 1976, almost identical to the "alternate" version (closer to the version they had originally played), except with a slightly different song structure. This version was released in 1998.

The band have also released a festive alternative version of the song, with slightly different lyrics, called "I Want You For Christmas", in 2012.[8][9]

Critical reception

In the 2007 book Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, a section on Cheap Trick featured reviews on the top 20 stand-out tracks from the band. One track included was "I Want You to Want Me", where the author John M. Borack wrote "the In Color version lacked anything resembling balls, but that was remedied on the hit version from the groundbreaking Cheap Trick at Budokan disc. A piece of history and a darned cool tune, to boot."[10]

Chart positions

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Canada RPM 100 Top Singles [11] 97
U.S. Record World Singles Chart 101–150 [12] 119
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 15
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[14] 1
Canada RPM 100 Singles [15] 2
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 18
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 23
UK Singles Chart [19] 29
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [12] 7
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [12] 3

All appearances

Cover versions

In popular culture

References

  1. ↑ Lester, Paul (February 11, 2015). "Powerpop: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ McLane, D. (June 14, 1979). "Cheap Trick Finds Heaven". Rolling Stone. p. 49.
  3. ↑ Wright, J. "Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick". Classic Rock Revisited. Archived from the original on 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  4. ↑ "BUDOKAN! (30th Anniversary DVD+3CDs) insert booklet".
  5. ↑ "Cheap Trick singles Billboard performance". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
  6. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  7. ↑ "Gold and Platinum". Musiccanada.com. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  8. ↑ "I Want You For Christmas: Cheap Trick: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  9. ↑ "Song Search for "i want you for christmas"". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  10. ↑ Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide - John M. Borack - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
  11. ↑ "RPM 100 Top Singles" (PDF). RPM. Toronto: RPM Music Publications. November 26, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Cheap Trick – I Want You to Want Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. ↑ "Radio2 top 30: 8 oktober 2016 | Radio2". Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  15. ↑ "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Toronto: RPM Music Publications. August 11, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Musicline.de – Cheap Trick Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  17. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Cheap Trick search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Cheap Trick – I Want You to Want Me". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ↑ "Cheap Trick". officialcharts.com. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Stephen Colbert Web Exclusive". Parade.com. Retrieved 2012-06-27.

External links

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