French Kiss (Lil Louis song)

"French Kiss"
Single by Lil Louis
from the album From the Mind of Lil Louis
Released	July 17, 1989
Recorded	1989
Genre	House acid house[1] techno[2][3][4]
Length	9:52
Label	FFRR/PolyGram Epic/CBS
Songwriter(s)	Marvin Burns Karlana Johnson
Producer(s)	Lil Louis
Lil Louis singles chronology
"French Kiss" (1989) "New York" (1989)
Alternative cover
US release, B-side

"French Kiss" is a 1989 record by American DJ and record producer Lil Louis. It was a European and American hit played widely in clubs, and spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in October 1989. It became a crossover pop hit, peaking at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a mainstream pop hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number two in August 1989. It was banned by the BBC.^[5]

Originally an instrumental song (apart from wordless moans), vocals were recorded after the song was picked up for distribution by major labels. In the United States, the lead vocals on the track were performed by American singer Shawn Christopher and in Europe vocal duties were performed by a woman known only as "Pasquale".^[6]

Distinctions of this song are that it is based on a single note (F-natural) and that it gradually slows down to a complete stop, marked by the sound of female moans, and then gradually speeding up. This was an innovative feature for any dance track at that time. The song includes a more erotic vocal performance than the title implies.

The American 12-inch single was never released commercially on compact disc. It was sampled heavily on Josh Wink's single "How's Your Evening So Far?"—credited to Wink vs. Lil Louis. It was also sampled on the Wiseguys' 1998 song "Au-Pair Girls". In 1990, French TV presenter Lagaf' used a sample of the song in a parodic version under the name Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss).

The song was also sampled on a remix of "The Loco-Motion" for Kylie Minogue's 1990 Enjoy Yourself Tour titled "The Oz Tour Mix", which remained unreleased in studio form for many years until it was finally released on the bonus disc of remixes of the 2002 compilation Greatest Hits '87–'92.

The track was featured on the 1999 Carl Cox DJ album Non-stop 2000—CD 1, starting roughly midway through track six, "Funk on the Roll". Cox seamlessly mixed it in the background continuously, through the whole of the next track "Let It Roll", before it plays in its entire original form as track eight.

The song's moans are sampled as part of the beat on "Custom Made (Give It to You)" by Lil' Kim, which appeared on her album The Notorious K.I.M.^[7] Robyn's 2018 song "Send to Robin Immediately" creates a slow build using a sample of "French Kiss".^[8]

In 1995, American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter Armand van Helden named "French Kiss" one of his "classic cuts", saying, "This song is my first introduction to trance because, to me, it's a serious house track. It was for real house enthusiasts at the time. It's a simple track which builds, it's very electronic. It's full of soul. It's very sexual. It's the first dance track I've known to date to change bpms drastically – I've never heard of an electronic track that had the balls to do that."^[9] Also British DJ and producer Pete Tong named it one of his "classic cuts" the same year, adding, "One of the most important riffs ever written in house music and frequently imitated but never bettered. Everyone else has put it in their charts so why shouldn't I? I signed it and it makes me proud. You can hear its influence in almost 50% of house music that comes out in Europe."^[10]

In 1996, Mixmag ranked it number 53 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time" list, commenting, "Back in 1989, this was the record that every DJ needed. The one that, if you dared mix out it before the slow down - orgasm bit - speed up gimmick, a horde of people would come up to the DJ for a whinge. At the time it was a bit of fun, a peak time stomper for the height of orbital raving. But looking back, nothing else set the repetitive building tone so much for what would become trance. Ten minutes of eyes-closed bliss from Chicago's legendary trackhead."^[11] In 2003, Q Magazine ranked it number 516 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".^[12] In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked it 7th in its "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list, adding, "'French Kiss' is a moaning, sex-as-house track that audaciously and amazingly slows down and then stops altogether. It builds again, chugging back to its initial speed until it fades brighter than ever in post-orgasmic glow."^[13]

In 2014, Rolling Stone featured it in their "20 Best Chicago House Records" list, saying, "For all the pseudo-romantic flailings of contemporary EDM diva anthems, it's hard to match the raw sexiness of this track, whose vocals came courtesy of Shawn Christopher. But Louis also stretched house's characteristic build-ups to their most dramatic extreme for the era. "French Kiss" is one long, drawn-out crescendo to a climax — get it? — and it hits an almost techno-like, robotic trance."^[14] In 2015, Time Out's list of "The 20 Best House Tracks Ever" included it as number four. They wrote, "This number from Chicago's Lil' Louis was one of the first house tracks to enjoy both considerable commercial success and heavy club airplay on its release. Even one listen to its infectious, unrelenting groove and orgasmic tempo shifts is enough to understand why it got everyone so excited.^[15] In 2020, NME ranked "French Kiss" among "The 20 Best House Music Songs... Ever!",^[16] while Slant Magazine ranked it number 26 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".^[17] In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked it number 21 in their list of "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".^[18] In 2024, Classic Pop ranked "French Kiss" number nine in their list of "Top 20 80s House Hits".^[19]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)