"Part-Time Lover" is a 1985 single by Stevie Wonder, from his album In Square Circle. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ( his last number one song on billboard), R&B, dance, and adult contemporary charts. The song's simultaneous chart success made him the first artist to score a number-one hit on four different Billboard charts. The song also reached number three on the UK singles chart.
The song featured R&B singer Luther Vandross humming at the end of Stevie's verses and on backing vocals. Stevie Wonder earned a Grammy Awardnomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1986, for the song. Wonder is noted in the liner notes of the 4-CD set "Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection Volume 2 1972-1992" as describing the music for the song as an ode to "You Can't Hurry Love" and "My World Is Empty Without You," both by The Supremes, former Motown label mates of Wonder.
Contents[]
Music video[edit][]
The video for "Part-Time Lover" features a black couple and the affairs that they have with their other halves. The video begins with the couple watching a film, when their phone rings. For the majority of the video, each half of the couple is seen re-enacting the lyrics of the song, such as the wife's male friend initiating her phone call to avoid suspicion. Interspersed with the narrative is footage of Wonder playing a Kurzweil keyboard in a dance club. One shot of Wonder features him inside a triangular window with a red spotlight hovering over it, a visual reference to the album In Square Circle, on which this song appears. Wonder also sings the song on the street, as the husband rendezvous with his partner. The climax of the video has the husband and his partner dancing on one side of Wonder's stage, and the wife and her partner dancing on the other side. It is implied that the husband notices his wife through the legs of Wonder's keyboard stand.
Charts[edit][]
| Chart (1985) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] | 11 |
| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[2] | 1 |
| Canada (RPM 100 Singles)[3] | 1 |
| France (SNEP)[4] | 3 |
| Germany (Media Control Charts)[5] | 12 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[6] | 1 |
| Italy (FIMI)[7] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] | 17 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 1 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[10] | 5 |
| Spain (AFYVE)[11] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 3 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 5 |
| United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company)[14] | 3 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 1 |
Cover versions[edit][]
- Puerto Rican salsa musician Bobby Valentin cover the song in 1986 which peaked at #23 on the Hot Latin Tracks chart.[16]
Personnel[edit][]
- Backing vocals - Billy Durham, Darryl Phinnessee, Keith John, Melody McCully, Peter Byrne, Philip Bailey, Renee Hardaway, Syreeta Wright
- Backing vocals, additional lead vocals - Luther Vandross[17]