It was the US’s 40th biggest-selling record of the 2000s, simultaneously number one on both sides of the Atlantic. “Crazy in Love”was declared “the best pop single of the 21st century” by NME in 2013. But the roots of this modern anthem were by no means contemporary. They lay in a modest-selling 1970 single by a Chicago soul vocal quartet, The Chi-Lites. This group would become chart staples with hits such as “Have You Seen Her”, but they were struggling to establish themselves when they released “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)”, which crept to an unremarkable number 72 in the US chart. The song’s writer, The Chi-Lites’ lead singer, Eugene Record, soon became well known for romantic ballads, but “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)”, with its horn blasts and bustling conga groove reminiscent of Sly & The Family Stone, was entirely different, and apart from a remake by The Black Flames in 1987, it passed largely forgotten.
In 2003, Beyoncé Knowles was also trying to establish herself as a solo artist after a stellar career fronting the female R&B group Destiny’s Child. Her first solo single “Work It Out” had been well received and, following the modern method of making records, the singer completed a debut album by listening to producers’ song ideas and “beats” – rhythm tracks mostly built by sampling old music. However, record company marketing priorities put its release on hold, so the singer took the opportunity to search for more material and contacted Rich Harrison, a producer who had worked with Kelly Rowland, also of Destiny’s Child.
Harrison was delighted. Producing Beyoncé was considered a prestigious gig: it was assumed she was a major star in the making. Harrison had not forgotten “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)”; he had been working on a rhythm track that sampled it heavily. However, though he felt it was special, friends in the industry “couldn’t dig it”, the producer later admitted. Harrison had sampled the song’s clarion-call horn introduction, but brass was considered cheesy in early 2000s R&B. Harrison, disappointed, decided not to shop the song around, but when Beyoncé called, he realised it was the perfect beat for her: “Work It Out” had been retro and funky too.
When they met to audition his ideas, Harrison was so convinced Beyoncé would like it, he’d partied the night before in celebration, and rolled up at the studio late and worse for wear. But when he played the beat, Beyoncé’s response was jarringly familiar: it was too retro and horns were a no-no. Harrison tried to convert the reluctant vocalist to the track’s magical qualities and she relented, but said she was popping out for two hours and could the producer please turn the beat into a finished song by the time she got back?
The hungover Harrison managed to complete the verses and when Beyoncé returned, she looked in the mirror and said, “I’m looking so crazy right now”, which became the chorus. Beyoncé improvised the “uh-oh uh-oh” hook, her future husband Jay-Z added a rap, and “Crazy in Love” was released in May 2003 to huge acclaim, cementing Beyoncé’s status as modern pop’s ruling diva.
Though this anthem was inextricably linked with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, “Crazy In Love” attracted a surprising number of covers. Indie-rock plodders Snow Patrolcut it for a BBC session in 2004; The Magic Numbers reworked it in 2007. Emeli Sandé & The Bryan Ferry Orchestra tackled it for the soundtrack to the 2013 movie of The Great Gatsby; rockabilly act The Baseballsstruck it in 2009; Antony & The Johnsonsmade it orchestral the same year, and it even became a 1940s-style swing number thanks to The Puppini Sisters: it had become a one-size-fits-all tune.
Four people took credit for writing it: Beyoncé, Harrison, Jay-Z and The Chi-Lites’ Eugene Record, who died two years after “Crazy in Love” was released. It had given him one last big payday.
We’re keen to hear from our readers. Do any of the covers match Beyonce’s version of ‘Crazy in Love’? Let us know in the comments below.
‘The Life of a Song: The fascinating stories behind 50 of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Brewer’s.
Music credits: Columbia, Brunswick Records, Polydor Records, WM Germany, Rough Trade, Decca (UMO)
Picture credit: ShowBizIreland/GettyImages