| "The Closer I Get to You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 A-side label of U.S. vinyl single | ||||
| Single byRoberta Flack withDonny Hathaway | ||||
| from the albumBlue Lights in the Basement | ||||
| B-side | "Love Is the Healing" | |||
| Released | February 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:41 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| Roberta Flack singles chronology | ||||
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| Donny Hathaway singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "The Closer I Get to You" onYouTube | ||||
"The Closer I Get to You" is a romanticballad performed by singer-songwriterRoberta Flack and soul musicianDonny Hathaway. The song was written byJames Mtume andReggie Lucas, two former members ofMiles Davis's band, who were members of Flack's band at the time. Produced byAtlantic Records, the song was released on Flack's 1977 albumBlue Lights in the Basement, and as a single in 1978. It became a major crossover hit, becoming Flack's biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single, "Killing Me Softly with His Song". Originally set as a solo single, Flack's manager, David Franklin, suggested a duet with Hathaway, which resulted in the finished work.
"The Closer I Get to You" spent two weeks as number one on theHot Soul Singles chart in April 1978, and peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100 behindYvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" andWings' "With a Little Luck." The song charted in the top ten spots for fourteen weeks in Canada and one week in France. It was eventuallycertified gold in the United States in May 1978, and became one of their most familiar duets. At the21st Annual Grammy Awards given in 1979, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway were nominated forBest Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus with the award going to theBee Gees for their work in theSaturday Night Fever soundtrack. The song would notably be covered byLuther Vandross andBeyoncé in 2003.
"The Closer I Get to You" was written byReggie Lucas andJames Mtume, who were members ofRoberta Flack's touring band and played onBlue Lights in the Basement.[1] They wrote the song between tours and, during the sessions for the album, brought it to Flack's producer Joe Ferla, who played it for Flack. Ferla, Flack (as Rubina Flake) andGene McDaniels produced the track, with Ahmet Ertegun serving as executive producer.[2] Flack andDonny Hathaway, good friends while attendingHoward University, had recorded aself-titled album of duets in 1972.[3] Five years later, the duo collaborated again on "The Closer I Get to You".[4]
"The Closer I Get to You" was not originally written as a duet. Flack's manager David Franklin, who had worked with Hathaway in the past, decided to re-write the song to include him. Hathaway had been suffering from severe bouts ofclinical depression at the time, which often forced him to be hospitalized. The depression also caused mood swings, which adversely affected his partnership with Flack,[5] who, following Hathaway's death, would tellJet magazine:
I tried to reach out to Donny. That's how we managed to do the song we did last year. I felt this need because I didn't know what to do. I couldn't save him, I knew he was sick. But I knew when he sat down at that piano and sang for me it was like it was eight or nine years ago because he sang and played his ass off.[6]
In fact Hathaway's suffering had made it impossible for him to travel from Chicago to New York City to join Flack in the studio to record "The Closer I Get to You": Flack recorded her part of the song with a session singer as a stopgap duet partner, the track being sent to Chicago for Hathaway to add his vocal and then back to New York City for its final mixing.[7]
Flack announced that "The Closer I Get to You" would forever be a dedication to Hathaway, and that all money made from the song would be donated to Hathaway's widow and two children.[6] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com bySony/ATV Music Publishing, "The Closer I Get to You" is set incommon time and moves at atempo of 90 beats per minute. The song is written in thekey ofA major and follows the chord progression Dmaj9–C♯m7–F♯m7–Amaj7. Flack sings in the vocal range of C♯4–F♯5.[8] "The Closer I Get to You" was released as a7-inch single with "Love is the Healing" as itsB-side.[9]
Critics described "The Closer I Get to You" as Flack at the top of her form.[10] The song came in at number 40 onBillboard' poll of "The 40 Biggest Duets Of All Time", where it was described a "tender tune".[4] Authors ofAll Music Guide To Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul described the song as ethereal.[11] Alan Light ofVibe magazine characterized it as intimate and effortless as an overheard conversation.[12] Author of1001 Ways to Be Romantic, Gregory J. P. Godek, included the song in a list of "Best Love Song Duets".[13] A writer ofJet magazine described the song as a "pop-soul classic".[14] Carolyn Quick Tillery, author ofCelebrating Our Equality, described the song as a lasting musical legacy.[15] Devon Jarvis ofWomen's Health included Flack and Hathaway's version of "The Closer I Get to You" in "Favorite Karaoke Duets".[16] While opening the "R&B Vault", Gail Mitchell ofBillboard praised the song as a 1970s-era classic.[17] While reviewingBlue Lights in the Basement, Jason Elias of the websiteAllmusic wrote, "The track easily attains the grace and gorgeous sound that a lot of the like-minded songs here just miss."[18] Lewis Dene ofBBC described "The Closer I Get to You" as a "soul masterpiece".[19] Both Hathaway and Flack were nominated for aGrammy Award for their duet.[20]
In theUnited States, the song became the duo's second number one on the USHot Soul Singles chart in 1978, and climbed to the number two spot on theBillboard Hot 100.[4] "The Closer I Get to You" also peaked at number three on theAdult Contemporary charts[21] and number 2 on theCash Box Top 100. By the end of 1978, the single was positioned at number 38 on theBillboard Hot 100 and number 31 on theCash Box Top 100 chart. In 2025, the single entered theR&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, peaking at number 10. InCanada, the single topped the RPM Singles Chart, and was positioned at number 17 on the chart by the end of 1978. InNew Zealand, the single charted at number 16 on theNew Zealand Singles Chart. InFrance, the single charted at number 10 on theFrench Singles Chart. In theUnited Kingdom, the single charted at number 42 on theUK Singles Chart.
Amusic video for "The Closer I Get to You" was shot and directed by Roberta Flack herself.[22] The video begins with Flack's singing while sitting by a piano in a candle-lit room. Hathaway had died by the time the music video was shot, so as his verse plays, the camera zooms into a picture of Hathaway located on a table behind Flack's shoulder. Flack performs the rest of the song sitting by the piano, and the camera's direction occasionally looks over a candle flame during Hathaway's verses. The video ends with Flack's mouthing some of Hathaway's lyrics as she fades into the camera's view of the room lit by a single candle. A version of Flack's performing the song live circulated as its promotional music video.[23]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| "The Closer I Get to You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byLuther Vandross andBeyoncé | ||||
| from the albumDance with My FatherandDangerously in Love | ||||
| Released | June 13, 2004 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | R&B[33] | |||
| Length | 6:25 (Dance with My Father version) 4:57 (Dangerously in Love version) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Nat Adderley Jr. | |||
| Luther Vandross singles chronology | ||||
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| Beyoncé singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "The Closer I Get to You" onYouTube | ||||
Luther Vandross andBeyoncé's 2003 cover version of the song appeared on both Vandross's final albumDance with My Father and Beyoncé's solo debutDangerously in Love (both 2003 respectively). Their version was recorded atThe Hit Factory and the Right Track Studios, inNew York City.[32] It follows a tempo of 98 beats per minute, slightly faster than the original version. The track was included on the soundtrack of thebrazilian telenovelaCelebridade. It is set in thekey ofE♭ major, and follows the chord progression Gm7–Cm7–E♭maj9–A♭.[34] It was serviced to USurban contemporary andurban adult contemporary radio on June 13, 2004.[35][36]
Sal Cinquemani ofSlant Magazine called the song "dated" and wrote that it felt out of place onDangerously in Love.[37] Erika Ramirez ofBillboard magazine also noted that "While the singer holds her own alongside the legend, the quiet storm duet feels out of place considering the electrifying feel of majority of the album."[38] Neil Drumming ofEntertainment Weekly said: "A remake of 'The Closer I Get to You' with Luther Vandross also sounds, sadly, a little dated."[39] Spence D. ofIGN commented "By the time Beyoncé has teamed up with the granddaddy of contemporary love jams, Luthor Vandross, on 'The Closer I Get To You', her album has descended into somewhat generic terrain. Sure, her vocals are on point and the music is adequately slick."[33] Anthony DeCurtis ofRolling Stone wrote, "While she oozes charisma and has a fine voice, Beyoncé isn't in a class with the likes ofWhitney Houston orMariah Carey as a singer, a fact that 'The Closer I Get to You', her duet with the effortlessly smooth Luther Vandross, also makes clear."[40]
Jason King ofVibe magazine wrote that Beyoncé had some "cojones" to follow up aJay-Z duet with a Luther Vandross duet on the album's track-listing.[41] Rob Fitzpatrick ofNME stated that "it's the irredeemably cheesy ballad with80scornball Luther Vandross that will make the voices in your head demand hot, fresh blood."[42] By contrast, Lewis Dene ofBBC gave the song a positive review, stating that it is guaranteed the number one slot on the US R&B charts.[19]Consequence of Sound's Chris Coplan noted that the song contained "unintentional cheesy vibe, [which] seems way more heart-wrenching now [in 2013] than it did a decade ago" and added that Beyoncé's vocals contained a "real sweetness and innocence".[43] Pamelia S. Phillips, the author ofSinging for Dummies, credited Beyoncé's vocal performance on "The Closer I Get to You" as one of her best.[44] Mark Anthony Neal ofPopMatters gave Beyoncé and Vandross "vocal props" for their performance in the "quiet storm", but described the overall performance as flat.[45] During the46th Annual Grammy Awards, this version of "The Closer I Get to You" won theGrammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[46]
Beyoncé and Vandross' cover of "The Closer I Get to You" debuted at number 76 on the USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart dated July 24, 2004. The next week it moved up to number 68,[47] and on August 7 it peaked at number 62.[48] The track spent a total of twenty weeks on the chart.[49] On the airplay component of this chart, theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, "The Closer I Get to You" spent eight weeks and reached a peak of number 60.[50] The song would later be certified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for equivalent sales of 500,000 units in theUnited States.
Credits taken fromDangerously in Love liner notes.[32]
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| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[52] | 60 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[53] | 63 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[54] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
"The Closer I Get To You" has beencovered many times. Among the more notable versions are the following:
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