Say You, Say Me


"Say You, Say Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie for the film White Nights. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Black Singles chart in December 1985. It also became Richie's ninth number-one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The track is not available on the film's soundtrack album, as Motown did not want Richie's first single following the massive success of his 1983 album Can't Slow Down to appear on another label. It was included by Motown on Richie's 1986 release Dancing on the Ceiling.

Development and production

For the 1985 film White Nights, a ballet drama starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines, director Taylor Hackford asked Richie to write a title theme. Unable to compose a song with "White Nights" in the title, Richie submitted a demo of the ballad "Say You, Say Me". Eventually, Hackford approved the song and included the completed version in White Nights. Produced by Richie and James Anthony Carmichael, the song was primarily recorded in Richie's living room. "Say You, Say Me" made its official radio debut in Chicago, Illinois, on then-Top 40 radio station WLS-FM on October 15, in connection of the White Nights world premiere at the 1985 Chicago International Film Festival. In the movie itself, "Say You, Say Me" was introduced over the closing credits.

Music video

A music video, also directed by Hackford, was made for the song. It featured inserted clips from White Nights.

Critical reception

For The New York Times in 1986, Stephen Holden called the song "a powerful mid-80's echo of the Beatles' late-60's chant-like ballads." In a mixed review of Dancing on the Ceiling, Mike Joyce of The Washington Post called the song "silly and horrendously overexposed."
In a 2007 retrospective of the January 11, 1986 Billboard Hot 100 chart, Whitney Pastorek of Entertainment Weekly graded "Say You, Say Me" with an A-minus, calling it "an enduring love song" and commenting "the cranked-up electric bridge alone should be enough to make it a classic."

Commercial performance

In the US, the "Say You, Say Me" single sold a million copies and was no. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard "Hot Black" chart and for four weeks on the Hot 100.
The single was hugely successful in South Africa, attaining the No. 1 spot on the weekly charts for a total of 30 weeks. It was the No. 1 single of 1986 on the year-end Springbok chart.

Track listing

  1. "Say You Say Me" – 3:59
  2. "Can't Slow Down" – 4:40

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart Peak
position
Japan 25

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australia 35
Austria 27
Belgium 45
Netherlands 91
South Africa 1
Switzerland 8
US Billboard Hot 1002
US Adult Contemporary 2
US Hot Black Singles 11
US Cash Box Top 10023
West Germany 49

Lionel Richie and Rasmus Seebach version

In 2012, Lionel Richie re-recorded the song with Danish pop singer-songwriter Rasmus Seebach. The duet is featured on Richie's album Tuskegee, for which Richie has picked a host of best-selling singers from around the world in collaborations. The album version features American country singer Jason Aldean.

Track listing

  1. "Say You, Say Me" – 5:09