SIMPLY RED - IF YOU DON’T KNOW ME BY NOW

IF YOU DON’T KNOW ME BY NOW

SIMPLY RED

SONGWRITERS: KENNY GAMBLE & LEON HUFF

COUNTRY: U. K.

ALBUM: A NEW FLAME

LABEL: ELEKTRA RECORDS

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 1989

 

          Simply Red are a British soul and pop band which formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the release of their debut studio album Picture Book(1985), they have had ten songs reach top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, including "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now", both of which reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. They have had five number one albums in the UK, with their 1991 album, Stars, being one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history.

        At the 1992 and 1993 Brit Awards, they received the award for Best British Group. They received three Grammy Award nominations: for Best New Artist in 1987, and "Holding Back the Years" and "If You Don't Know Me by Now" for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The band re-formed in 2015. Simply Red has sold over 50 million albums.

        Simply Red's version of "If You Don't Know Me by Now" was a major commercial success on the charts in 1989, giving the band their second US number one (also topping the Adult Contemporary chart), and peaking at number 38 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. This version also won the Grammy Award for the Best R&B Song of 1989. The track was also a number-one hit in Australia and New Zealand; in the latter country, it was the best-selling single of 1989. It reached number 2 in the UK, becoming the band's second top-10 hit after the re-issue of "Holding Back the Years" in 1986, which also reached number 2.

       According to the producer Stewart Levine, he didn't want too much orchestration on the record, and went with a two-part harmony instead of a three-part harmony. Mick Hucknall admitted he loved Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' version, and stated he danced to their music when he was 13.

          This version can be heard in the films American Psycho(2000) and Class Action(1991) and appears in the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol. It is also available to download for the Xbox 360 game Lips, which contains the music video.

Sing the song, everybody

C'mon

 

If you don't know me by now (wunderbar)

You will never, never, never know me

Oooh

 

Now all the things

That we've been through

You should understand me

Like I understand you

 

Now girl I know the difference

Between right and wrong

I ain't gonna do nothing

To upset our happy home

 

Don't get so excited

When I come home

A little late at night

You know we only act like children

When we argue fuss and fight

 

If you don't know me, baby

(You will never never never know me)

No, you won't (oooh)

Oooh, yeah, c'mon

 

Oh, if you don't know me, girl

(You will never never never know me)

You... (Uuuh)

 

We've all got

Our own funny moods

I've got mine

I bet you woman you've got yours too

 

You better trust in me like I trust in you

As long as we've been together

It should be so easy to do

 

Just get yourself together

Or we might as well say goodbye

What good is a love affair

When you can't see eye to eye

 

If you don't know me, baby

(You will never never never know me)

No, you won't (Oooh)

No, you won't, no, you won't, no, you won't

 

Twenty long years we've been together

(You will never never never know me)

(Ooohh) ooh ooh-ooh oh

Well...

Oooh (You will never never never know me)

No, you won't (oooh).