Songoftheday 12/19/13 - She's the kind of girl you dream of dream of getting hold of, you better forget it you'll never get it...

Philip Bailey with Phil Collins - "Easy Lover"
from the album Chinese Wall (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 16

Today's Song of the Day paired up the vocalist from the 70s funk-soul titans Earth, Wind, & Fire with the lead singer and drummer from the prog-rock group Genesis. Philip Bailey, who grew up in Denver, Colorado, joined EWF in the early 70s, giving the band his signature falsetto on their biggest hits like "Fantasy" and "September".  In 1984, while still with the band, Bailey released his first solo album Chinese Wall. The first single from the set, "Easy Lover", was recorded as a duet with Phil Collins, who was then already carving out a solo career of his own while still a member of Genesis. Written by the pair with bassist Nathan East, and produced by Collins, it was 1985's first big multi-format crossover hit. The video for the song was ultra-meta as well..

 "Easy Lover" went to the runner-up spot on the American pop chart in Feburary of 1985, while also making the R&B (#3), rock (#5), dance (#7), and adult-contemporary (#15) format charts in Billboard. Internationally, the single topped the chart in England, Canada, Ireland, and the Netherlands, top-5 in Germany, and top-20 in France and Italy.

It would be Bailey's only time as a solo artist in the top-40 in the States. The follow-up single, "Walking On The Chinese Wall", stopped right below the top-40 at #49 in 1985. From his next album on, Bailey would concentrate on gospel music for his solo work, along with his soul material with Earth Wind & Fire.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


..and here's Philip live with the song...

...and Phil Collins in concert...

Up tomorrow: a glamorous percussionist sings about a queen...