On this day July 15, 1989, If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Simply Red became the number one song in America. It held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 from July 15 through July 21 and also reached number one in Australia and New Zealand. The song was part of their third studio album A New Flame and became one of the band’s most iconic and enduring ballads.
Originally written and recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in 1972, Simply Red’s version brought the song to a whole new generation. Mick Hucknall’s passionate vocal delivery gave the track a new sense of longing and sincerity. The smooth arrangement, elegant piano, and restrained instrumentation allowed the emotion of the lyrics to take center stage.
The success of If You Don’t Know Me By Now helped establish Simply Red as international hitmakers. While the group had already found success in the UK and Europe, this single gave them their biggest chart moment in the United States. It also showed the band’s strength in interpreting soul classics through their own unique style. The single earned a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and remains one of the most requested love ballads of the late 1980s.
80s insight: Simply Red proved that great songs never go out of style and that heartfelt vocals could still top the charts in the closing year of the decade.
Originally written and recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in 1972, Simply Red’s version brought the song to a whole new generation. Mick Hucknall’s passionate vocal delivery gave the track a new sense of longing and sincerity. The smooth arrangement, elegant piano, and restrained instrumentation allowed the emotion of the lyrics to take center stage.
The success of If You Don’t Know Me By Now helped establish Simply Red as international hitmakers. While the group had already found success in the UK and Europe, this single gave them their biggest chart moment in the United States. It also showed the band’s strength in interpreting soul classics through their own unique style. The single earned a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and remains one of the most requested love ballads of the late 1980s.
80s insight: Simply Red proved that great songs never go out of style and that heartfelt vocals could still top the charts in the closing year of the decade.
