"Emotion" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. It was first recorded by Australian singer Samantha Sang, whose version reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. The Bee Gees recorded their own version of the song in 1994 as part of an album called Love Songs, which was never released, but it was eventually included on their 2001 collection titled Their Greatest Hits: The Record. In 2001, "Emotion" was covered by the American R&B girl group Destiny's Child. Their version of the song was an international hit, reaching the top ten on the US Hot 100 chart and peaking in the top five on the UK Singles Chart. English singer Emma Bunton also covered the song on her 2019 album My Happy Place.
| "Emotion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of side-A labels of the Australian single | ||||
| Single by Samantha Sang | ||||
| from the album Emotion | ||||
| B-side | "When Love Is Gone" | |||
| Released | December 1977 | |||
| Recorded | April 1977 | |||
| Studio | Criteria (Miami, Florida) | |||
| Genre | Disco[1] | |||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Label | Private Stock | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | |||
| Producer(s) | Gibb-Galuten-Richardson | |||
| Samantha Sang singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Emotion" on YouTube | ||||
Original version
Background
Originally, "Emotion" was recorded by Samantha Sang for the Private Stock label. The song was Sang's only hit single, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard ranked her version as the No. 14 song for 1978. There is a promotional video made for this song.
When Sang arrived in Miami, instead of recording "Don't Throw It All Away", Barry Gibb offered her a new song called "Emotion". On this track, Sang sticks to a breathy, Barry-like sound. Gibb himself provided harmony and background vocals in his signature falsetto. The B-side was "When Love Is Gone", a Francis Lai composition. It was recorded around April 1977 in Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida around the same time that Barry contributed writing and producing "Save Me, Save Me" for the band Network. Blue Weaver identified the musicians as shown from memory. On the session, Joey Murcia plays guitar, George Bitzer on keyboards, Harold Cowart on bass and Ron "Tubby" Zeigler on drums.[2] It was originally intended for use in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever,[citation needed] but ended up being featured in the film The Stud (1978) starring Joan Collins. Also in 1978, "Emotion" was used as the B-side of Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams's single "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", which reached number one in the US.
Personnel
- Samantha Sang – vocals
- Barry Gibb – harmony and background vocals
- George Terry – guitar
- Joey Murcia – guitar
- George Bitzer – keyboards, Fender Rhodes Electric Piano
- Harold Cowart – bass
- Ron Ziegler – drums
- Karl Richardson – engineering
Track listings and format
- "Emotion" – 3:43
- "When Love Is Gone" – 3:46
Chart performance
Year-end charts
| Chart (1978) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia[10] | 13 |
| Canada[11] | 19 |
| New Zealand[12] | 20 |
| UK[13] | 60 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 14 |
| US Cash Box[15] | 8 |
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[16] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Destiny's Child version
| "Emotion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Destiny's Child | ||||
| from the album Survivor | ||||
| B-side | ||||
| Released | 4 September 2001 | |||
| Length | 3:55 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Destiny's Child singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Emotion" on YouTube | ||||
Recording and production
In 2001, "Emotion" was recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their third studio album Survivor (2001). Produced and arranged by Mark J. Feist, it features a slower tempo than the original, although a more uptempo remix produced by Neptunes was also produced and included on the group's remix album This Is The Remix (2002). Feist had previously produced the song for Filipino singer Regine Velasquez for her album Drawn in 1998 and used exactly the same backing track for Destiny's Child.
Release and promotion
"Emotion" was released as the third single from Survivor on 4 September 2001 by Columbia Records. The song was heavily played on radio stations during the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks and eventually became a tribute song to the family of the victims. The group also paid tribute to R&B singer Aaliyah, who died in an August 2001 plane crash, at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards by performing the song.[17] Several international formats of "Emotion" contain "8 Days of Christmas" as a B-side, which previously appeared on the US maxi CD single of "Independent Women Part I" (2000).[18]
Commercial performance
"Emotion" continued Destiny's Child's streak of top-10 hits in the United States, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 on 1 December 2001. It was also a hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and sold over 145,000 copies. Internationally, it reached the top ten in several major music markets, including New Zealand, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Music video
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Francis Lawrence, featured a triple split-screen effect. Rowland appears on the left, Knowles in the centre, and Williams on the right. Rowland is seen saying goodbye to her boyfriend before he leaves in a taxi. Knowles catches her boyfriend with another woman and runs around the house in tears. Williams is with her grandmother, who has died in her bed. At the end of the video Williams calls the other group members to her home. The three girls meet there and comfort each other. The screen then returns to normal.
The music clip is featured as an enhanced video on the European editions of the CD single and on the 2004 Walmart-exclusive DVD titled Fan Pack.
Track listings
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (2001) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[56] | 174 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[57] | 91 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[58] | 54 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[59] | 66 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[60] | 88 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[61] | 117 |
| US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[62] | 84 |
| US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[63] | 88 |
| Chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Crowley)[64] | 85 |
| US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[65] | 61 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[66] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| South Africa (RISA)[67] | Gold | 25,000[67] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[68] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 September 2001 | Columbia | ||
| Australia | 8 October 2001 | Maxi CD | Sony Music | |
| United States | Adult contemporary radio | Columbia | ||
| France | 15 October 2001 | Maxi CD | Sony Music | |
| Japan | 17 October 2001 | Sony | ||
| New Zealand | 22 October 2001 | CD | Sony Music | |
| Germany | 30 October 2001 |
| ||
| United Kingdom | 12 November 2001 |
| Columbia | |
| France | 19 November 2001 | 12-inch vinyl | Sony Music | |
| 4 March 2002 | CD |
References
External links
- DestinysChild.com — official site
- Samantha Sang - Emotion on YouTube