The Power of Love (Jennifer Rush song)
"The Power of Love" is a song co-written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion.
"The Power of Love"
"I See a Shadow (Not a Fantasy)"
December 1984
CBS Studios International, Frankfurt
- 6:00 (album version)
- 4:20 (single version)
- Jennifer Rush
- Mary Susan Applegate
- Gunther Mende
- Candy DeRouge
Recorded in Frankfurt, Germany (where Rush is based) and released in West Germany without much success in late 1984, Rush's original version reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in October 1985 and subsequently became the biggest-selling single of the year in the UK, and the ninth best-selling single of the decade.[1] It also topped the charts in several other European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Dion's version peaked at number one in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and hit the top ten in several more countries in 1994. The song has been translated into several languages, becoming a pop standard.
Overview[edit]
"The Power of Love" was first recorded in Frankfurt, West Germany by Jennifer Rush for her 1984 eponymous album. It was released as a single in West Germany in December 1984. In June 1985, "The Power of Love" was issued as a single in the United Kingdom, where it topped the chart for five weeks in October 1985 and became the best-selling single of the year.[2] As of March 2017, it had sold 1.45 million copies in the UK.[3] The success of the song saw Rush perform it ‘‘live’’ on the BBC’s Top of the Pops in late 1985.[4]
The massive success of "The Power of Love" in the UK followed with widespread international success for the single in the last months of 1985 and the first of 1986, including a German re-release with a resultant number-nine charting. Eventually "The Power of Love" reached number one in Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa and Spain (where Rush topped the chart with a version in Spanish called "Si tú eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer", translated as "If you are my man and I'm your woman"), number three in Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, and number seven in the Netherlands.
CBS held off on releasing "The Power of Love" in North America feeling the disc was too European. It finally saw release in the United States and Canada in January 1986 but despite rising to number one in Canada, "The Power of Love" failed to become a significant US hit, stalling at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending of April 5, 1986, and spending 13 weeks within the Hot 100. The song was performed by Rush on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in March 1986 and American Bandstand in April 1986.
Critical reception[edit]
Michele Greppi from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named "The Power of Love" the "best cut" of the album, complimenting Rush's voice, noting that her "operatic training shows in her incredible range (with no apparent loss of power or flexibility at either top or bottom)".[5] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger stated that it's "a song about how love removes your own sense of scale, makes existence itself unfamiliar, so the disorientating disconnect between it and anything resembling my emotional reality makes a sort of warped sense." He added that the chorus is "so memorable".[6] Alan Jones from Music Week complimented it as "frankly superior".[7] Stephen Holden from The New York Times remarked that Rush "has a distinctive alto that combines an almost folkish intonation with a declamatory, quasi-operatic delivery. It is a voice that doesn't fit comfortably into any category."[8] Richard Defendorf from The Orlando Sentinel declared it as a "goopy ballad".[9] People magazine wrote that "what's most impressive is Rush's voice. Throaty, intense and wide-ranging". The reviewer also noted that there is "intelligent passion" in the "broody" "The Power of Love".[10] In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue praised it as a "fantastically classic power ballad" and "flawless", noting that the singer's vocals are "rich, strong, and wonderfully spine tingling".[11] Greg Kennedy from Red Deer Advocate viewed the song as "plaintive" and "poignant".[12] A writer for The Stage declared it a "superballad".[13]
Australian music channel Max included "The Power of Love" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2011.[14]
Music video[edit]
The accompanying music video of "The Power of Love" was directed by German director Michael Leckebusch.[15] It was filmed in New York City. As the video begins, we see the city in the early morning hours. Some villainous types are walking around an empty office, looking for something. They are being discovered by Rush's man, who obviously works at nights. Then the focus switches to Rush who is seen leaving Madison Square Garden. She starts singing and at home, she opens the door to her bedroom and finds her man lying asleep. When the chorus starts, Rush is standing in a freight elevator that is moving upwards. There are glimpses of the villainous men pushing her man to do things for them. Some scenes show Rush wearing black sunglasses, standing on the dock by the sea, while she watches the guys meeting on a pier to plot something. They are also hitting her man on the street by car. Apparently Rush is trying to help him out of the hands of these villains. Towards the end, she walks alone through the city in the evening hours, singing. At home, she once again opens the bedroom door, checking that her man is lying there asleep and then she shuts the door.[16] As of May 2023, the video had generated more than 126 million views on YouTube[1].
"The Power of Love
(You Are My Lady)"
"Power of Love"
"Spirit of Love"
October 1987
1987
Powertrax, Hollywood, California
5:19
- Jennifer Rush
- Mary Susan Applegate
"The Power of Love"
"No Living Without Loving You"
November 1993
1993
- The Enterprise
- Ground Control
- Record Plant
- 5:42 (Album Version)
- 4:47 (Radio Edit)
- Jennifer Rush
- Mary Susan Applegate
Other cover versions[edit]
The Spanish version of Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love," "Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer" was introduced by Dominican singer Angela Carrasco in 1986 and became very popular throughout Latin America. The same version was later recorded by a number of Latin artists including Yolandita Monge, Amanda Miguel, and La India. La India's version of the song peaked at number thirty-eight on Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States.[152] Brazilian singer Rosana recorded a Portuguese version of the song, titled "O Amor e o Poder", which was included on the soundtrack of 8PM prime time telenovela Mandala (1987–88), as the theme song for lead character Jocasta (Vera Fischer).[153] Her version was largely successful, becoming the sixth most played song in the country in 1988, as well as Rosana's biggest hit. It was also included on the tracklist for her album Coração Selvagem and propelled its sales, selling over 300,000 copies.[154][155] Wilfrido Vargas's New York Band covered the song in merengue which peaked at number thirty-seven on the Hot Latin Songs chart.[156] It was also covered by Los Melódicos and Dulce López from La Academia. Italian dance act Fits of Gloom released their version in 1994 with vocals by British singer Lizzy Mack which reached No. 49 on the UK Singles Chart.[157]