View source for Valerie (Steve Winwood song)

{{Not to be confused with|Valerie (Zutons song)}}{{short description|1982 single by Steve Winwood}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Valerie
| cover      = Valerie-1982single.jpg
| alt        =
| caption    = 1982 UK 7-inch vinyl single
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Steve Winwood]]
| album      = [[Talking Back to the Night]]
| B-side     = Slowdown Sundown
| released   = October 1982
| recorded   = 1981
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Synth-pop]]
| length     = 4:05
| label      = [[Island Records|Island]]
| writer     = * [[Steve Winwood]]
* [[Will Jennings]]
| producer   = Steve Winwood
| prev_title = Still in the Game
| prev_year  = 1982
| next_title = Talking Back to the Night
| next_year  = 1982
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|cbKNICg-REA|"Valerie"}}
}}
}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Valerie '87
| cover      = Valerie single.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Steve Winwood]]
| album      = [[Chronicles (Steve Winwood album)|Chronicles]]
| B-side     = * "Talking Back to the Night" (instrumental)
* "The Finer Things" (12" version)
| released   = September 5, 1987
| recorded   = 1987 (remix and overdubs)
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Synth-pop]]
| length     = 4:05
| label      = [[Island Records|Island]]
| writer     = * [[Steve Winwood]]
* [[Will Jennings]]
| producer   = * Steve Winwood
* Tom Lord-Alge
| prev_title = [[The Finer Things (song)|The Finer Things]]
| prev_year  = 1987
| next_title = [[Roll with It (Steve Winwood song)|Roll with It]]
| next_year  = 1988
}}
"'''Valerie'''" is a song written by English musician and songwriter [[Steve Winwood]] and [[Will Jennings]], and originally recorded by Winwood for his third solo album, ''[[Talking Back to the Night]]'' (1982).
==Background==
The song deals with a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday. In an interview with [[Songfacts]], Will Jennings said: "Valerie is a real person, whose identity I will not reveal. She was almost at the top of the world in her profession and let it slip away from her. She was a dear friend and this was my tribute to her."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/will-jennings|title=Will Jennings : Songwriter Interviews|website=www.songfacts.com}}</ref> It has been alleged, however, that he was thinking about singer [[Valerie Carter]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://popculturereferences.com/who-was-the-valerie-in-steve-winwoods-valerie/|title=Who Was the Valerie in Steve Winwood's 'Valerie'?|first=Brian|last=Cronin|date=August 25, 2022}}</ref>
On its original release, the single reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and number 70 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].
In 1987, a [[remix]] by [[Tom Lord-Alge]] was included as a single from Winwood's compilation album ''[[Chronicles (Steve Winwood album)|Chronicles]]''. The remixed version of "Valerie" climbed to number 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late December 1987, and also reached number 19 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. Both versions also reached number 13 on the U.S. [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.
[[DJ Falcon]] recalled in an interview that he and [[Thomas Bangalter]], as a duo called [[Together (French band)|Together]], had [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] "Valerie" to create a track that they used in DJ sets. Falcon added that the duo had no intention of releasing it as a single, despite demand from various outlets.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmk26C-qi5c  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/fmk26C-qi5c |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=DJ Falcon about Eric Prydz - CALL ON ME |website=YouTube |date=November 4, 2012 |access-date=September 18, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
[[Eric Prydz]] later sampled "Valerie" in 2004 for a [[house music]] track and presented it to Winwood, who was so impressed with what Prydz had done, he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.berubecommunications.com/html/ericprydz.html|title=Berube Communications|work=berubecommunications.com}}</ref> It was released as "[[Call on Me (Eric Prydz song)|Call on Me]]" that same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/clubland/|title=Pop & Hiss|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> "Call on Me" was, in turn, sampled in 2009's "Pass Out" from [[Chris Brown]] (featuring [[Eva Simons]]) on his ''[[Graffiti (Chris Brown album)#Track listing|Graffiti]]'' album, also co-produced by Prydz.
==Track listing==
* '''1982 single''':
#"Valerie"
#"Slowdown Sundown"
* '''1987 7-inch single''':
#"Valerie"
#"Talking Back to the Night" (instrumental)
* '''1987 12" and CD single''':
#"Valerie"
#"Talking Back to the Night" (instrumental)
#"The Finer Things" (12" version)
==Charts==
{{col-begin|width=74%}}
{{col-2}}
===1982 release===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1982)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, NSW]] |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6|title-link=Kent Music Report }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|98
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
|align="center"|34
|-
{{singlechart|UK|51|artist=Steve Winwood|song=Valerie|date=19821010|refname="UK"}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|70|artist=Steve Winwood|refname="US"}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardmainstreamrock|13|artist=Steve Winwood|refname="US rock"}}
|-
|}
===1987 release===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1987–1988)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="auchart"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
|Canada Adult Contemporary (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.8742&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.8742.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.8742|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=December 12, 1987 |access-date=December 27, 2019}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|Finland ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=284|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Steve Winwood|page=284|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|access-date=July 12, 2022|language=fi}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|20
|-
|Ireland ([[Irish Recorded Music Association|IRMA]])
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|41|artist=Steve Winwood|song=Valerie}}
|-
|[[UK Singles Chart|UK Singles]] ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref name="UK"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="US"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
{{single chart|Billboardadultcontemporary|2|artist=Steve Winwood}}
|-
|US [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Album Rock Tracks]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref name="US rock"/>
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|}
{{col-2}}
===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1988)
!Position
|-
|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 24, 1988 |title=1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles |page=Y-20 |magazine=Billboard |volume=100 |issue=52 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1988|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1988|access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|96
|-
|US Adult Contemporary (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1988/adult-contemporary-songs|title=Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1988|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 24, 2020}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|}
{{col-end}}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Steve Winwood|title=Valerie|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2023|id=9195-913-1|access-date=4 August 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.connollyco.com/discography/steve_winwood/valerieremix.html Dave Connolly discography: Steve Winwood - "Valerie"]
{{Steve Winwood}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1982 songs]]
[[Category:1982 singles]]
[[Category:1987 singles]]
[[Category:Steve Winwood songs]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings]]
[[Category:Songs written by Steve Winwood]]
[[Category:Island Records singles]]