Lead Me On (Maxine Nightingale song)

"Lead Me On"
Single by Maxine Nightingale
from the album Lead Me On
B-side"Love Me Like You Mean It"
ReleasedMay 1979
Recorded1978
GenrePop, R&B, soul
Length2:48
LabelWindsong
Songwriter(s)Allee Willis, David Lasley
Producer(s)Denny Diante
Maxine Nightingale singles chronology
"Right Now"
(1977) 		"Lead Me On"
(1979) 		"(Bringin' Out) The Girl in Me"
(1979)

"Lead Me On" is a popular song which was a hit single for Maxine Nightingale in 1979.

Overview

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The song was written by Allee Willis and David Lasley: (Allee Willis quote:) "David and I were just writing all the time, and there was a song out called 'Emotion' by Samantha Sang that we both really loved. So we said: 'Let’s write something in that spirit.' I was going through a huge breakup at the time, so for me ['Lead Me On'] was just a completely autobiographical song."[1]

"Lead Me On" was introduced on Love Lines which was Nightingale's third album for United Artists Records. Love Lines was issued in 1978 in the UK and Europe and "Lead Me On" was the second of two non-charting singles from the album, the first being "(Bringing Out) The Girl in Me").

Although United Artists did not release "Lead Me On" or its parent album in the US, Al Teller, who had been president of United Artists when Nightingale recorded her breakout hit "Right Back Where We Started From", made the US release of "Lead Me On" the debut single on Windsong Records shortly after assuming that company's presidency in January 1979;[2] the track began to accrue interest that spring particularly in the easy listening market with the #1 position on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart attained that July.[3]

In all, "Lead Me On" spent seven weeks atop the AC chart (for the weeks of July 7, 14, and 21; August 4, 11, and 18; and September 1). On the Billboard Hot 100, "Lead Me On" peaked at number five, while reaching number 37 on the R&B chart.[3][4][5] Despite the fact that it was an AC song, it enjoyed better success in Canada, where it reached number three on the CRIA singles chart[6] and spent 4 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the RPM Dance Music Chart.[7]

Nightingale herself would describe "Lead Me On" as (Maxine Nightingale quote:) "[a] sweet, simple little song", adding that its being chosen as a single was a decision with which she had disagreed.[8]

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 58
Canada RPM Top Singles[10] 2
Canada (CRIA)[11] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 5

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart (1979) Rank
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[14] 4
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[15] 24

Other versions

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"Lead Me On" has also been recorded by the Nolans (album Making Waves/ 1980) and Sharon Cuneta (album Isn't It Romantic? Vol 2/ 2007).[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Allee Willis 2016 Interview - Hit Pop Songwriter". 13 December 2016.
  2. ^ Billboard 21 July 1979 p.4
  3. ^ a b "Maxine Nightingale: Lead Me On (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  4. ^ "Maxine Nightingale: Lead Me On (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  5. ^ "Maxine Nightingale: Lead Me On (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  6. ^ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  7. ^ Top 20 Dance Music Chart (October 13, 1979) from RPM/Library and Archives Canada
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times (Calendar) 2 September 1979 "Unlike Peers, Singer Blasts Big Business" by Dennis Hunt p.74
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 218. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. ^ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  12. ^ "Maxine Nightingale – Lead Me On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  13. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  14. ^ "1979 Top 200 Singles". RPM. Vol. 32, no. 13. Library and Archives Canada. December 22, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  15. ^ "1979 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 51. December 22, 1979. p. TIA-10.
  16. ^ "Cover versions of Lead Me on written by David Lasley, Allee Willis | SecondHandSongs". SecondHandSongs.
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