Oh Girl – Wikipedia

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1972 single by the Chi-Lites

“Oh Girl” is a song written by Eugene Record and recorded by American soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, with Record on vocals and also producing. It was released as a single on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group’s 1972 album A Lonely Man, “Oh Girl” centers on a relationship on the verge of break-up.

“Oh Girl” was the Chi-Lites’ first and only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at that position in May 1972 for one week. The single also reached the top position of the Billboard R&B Singles chart the following month, remaining in that position for two weeks.[1]Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song for 1972.[2] In addition, it reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1972, and was a UK hit again in 1975 when reissued as a double A-side with “Have You Seen Her”, this time reaching a new peak of No. 5.[3]

The song prominently features a harmonica.

Personnel[edit]

  • Eugene Record – lead vocals, guitar, bass, composer, producer
  • Robert “Squirrel” Lester – vocals
  • Creadel “Red” Jones – vocals
  • Marshall Thompson – vocals, harmonica, melodica
  • Floyd Morris – piano
  • Quinton Joseph – drums
  • Tom Tom (Thomas Washington) – arranger[8]

Paul Young version[edit]

The track was most prominently covered in 1990 by Paul Young, from his album Other Voices. It became a top 10 hit in the U.S. (#8) and Canada (#4). It was also a major adult contemporary hit, reaching number one on both the US and Canadian[11] Adult Contemporary charts.

Charts[edit]

Other covers and uses in the media[edit]

  • “Oh Boy” was a gender-reversed cover of the song by Renée Geyer released in 1973.
  • “Oh Girl” was also covered by British hip hop artist Hard Livin’
  • Leo Sayer on his 1979 album, Here, and
  • Country music singer Con Hunley, who took his version of the song to number 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1982 with the Oak Ridge Boys on background vocals.
  • It was featured as a plot device in the Season Four episode of The Sopranos titled Watching Too Much Television in 2002.
  • It was covered in a punk style by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their 2003 album, Take a Break.
  • Also covered by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on their album Flying High Together (1972)
  • Over thirty years after the original release of “Oh Girl”, the recording was sampled by the Southern rapper, Paul Wall, for his 2006 single “Girl”.
  • In 1987, Glenn Jones had a moderate hit on the US Soul singles chart.
  • It was also covered by Seal as the last track on his Soul 2 album released in 2011.
  • The track was featured in the Spike Lee films Crooklyn (1994) and Chi-Raq (2015).
  • British boyband Blue covered “Oh Girl” as an international bonus track for their fifth studio album, Colours (2015).
  • The Spanish band Los Fugitivos, covered this song on their 2005 album Fue en un Cafe. The song is sung in Spanish except the title of the song being sung in English.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 117.
  2. ^ a b “Musicoutfitters.com”. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 103. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ a b Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  5. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 3, 1972
  6. ^ “1972: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles – RYM/Sonemic”.
  7. ^ “Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972”. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  8. ^ “Soulful Detroit: This is driving me nuts: What’s the instrument on “Oh Girl”?”. Faac.us. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  9. ^ Smith, Robin (June 23, 1990). “This Week: The Next Seven Days in View – Releases”. Record Mirror. p. 32. ISSN 0144-5804.
  10. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. “Best of Love: 16 Great Soft Rock Hits”. AllMusic.
  11. ^ “Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada”. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. September 22, 1990. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  12. ^ “Bubbling Down Under 17 September 1990”. September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  13. ^ “Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada”. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. September 29, 1990. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  14. ^ “Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada”. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. October 13, 1990. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  15. ^ “Eurochart Hot 100 Singles” (PDF). Music & Media. August 4, 1990. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  16. ^ “The Irish Charts – Search Results – Oh Girl”. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  17. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 6, 1990
  18. ^ “Top 100 Singles of 1990 in Canada”. Music Canada. March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  19. ^ Musicoutfitters.com

External links[edit]