Candy (Cameo song)

"Candy"
Single by Cameo
from the album Word Up!
ReleasedOctober 21, 1986 (1986-10-21)
Genre
Length
  • 5:39
  • 4:20 (7" edit)
LabelAtlanta Artists
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Larry Blackmon
Cameo singles chronology
"Word Up!"
(1986) 		"Candy"
(1986) 		"Back and Forth"
(1987)
Music video
"Candy" on YouTube

"Candy" is a song by American funk band Cameo, released as the second single from their 1986 album Word Up!. The song features a solo by saxophonist Michael Brecker. "Honey", a reworked version with different lyrics was included on their next album, Machismo.

Charts

In America, "Candy" reached number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B charts in early 1987, causing Aretha Franklin's "Jimmy Lee" to stop at #2.[1]

"Candy" also made the Top 10 on the US Dance charts and #27 in the United Kingdom in late 1986.

Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 27
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 21
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[4] 10
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[5] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Music video

The music video, shot on film, was directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński. Set against a backdrop of Times Square and various neon signs, the video features a high level of video compositing, with multiple layers of the band members and dancers appearing on screen in varying sizes and depths of field at once.

Samples

The song has been sampled by various artists, including 2Pac ("All Bout U", featured on his album All Eyez on Me), Will Smith ("Candy", on his album Big Willie Style), and Mariah Carey ("Loverboy", on the soundtrack to the film Glitter); the latter song would reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001. The Black Eyed Peas sampled it for the song "Ba Bump" from their album Monkey Business. Tichina Arnold sampled the basis for her song "Sweet Love" off her album Soul Free. The song was also sampled by R&B singer Jacquees on his song "Come Thru" which features hip-hop artist Rich Homie Quan. It was also sampled by 8ball & MJG on "Just Like Candy" off their album The Album of the Year.

The song's lyrics "You're giving me a heart attack, It's the kind I like" were interpolated in the New Radicals song "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" as "You're a heart attack, just the kind I like".

  • The song is a popular line dancing song often initiating the Electric Slide dance at weddings and parties.
  • The song appears in the 1999 film The Best Man.
  • The song appears on the radio station Bounce FM in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
  • The song appears in the 2010 film Death at a Funeral.
  • British comedian Javone Prince finishes each episode of The Javone Prince Show with "Candy Time", during which the audience and cast dance to the song.
  • The song appears as part of a line dance at the end of season 2, episode 4 of the British comedy-drama, This Way Up.
  • The song and music video are parodied in season 2, episode 1 of American animated television series Craig of the Creek, "Memories of Bobby".
  • The song appears in the wedding scene of the series finale episode of Killing Eve, "Hello, Losers".
  • The song appears in the roller disco scene of the 2023 Netflix film The Kitchen.
  • The song appears in an episode of the limited TV series One Day.

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 98.
  2. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Cameo Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003. Record Research. p. 48.
  5. ^ "Cameo Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  6. ^ "British single certifications – Cameo – Candy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 21, 2020.


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