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"The Closer I Get to You" is a romantic ballad performed by American jazz, soul, R&B, and folk singer-songwriter Roberta Flack and American soul musician Donny Hathaway. The song was written by James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, two former members of Miles Davis' band, who were members of Flack's band at the time. Produced by Atlantic Records, the song was released on Flack's 1977 album ''Blue Lights in the Basement'', and as a single in 1978. It became a major crossover hit, becoming Flack's biggest commercial hit after her success with her 1973 solo single, "Killing Me Softly with His Song". Originally set as a solo-single, Flack's manager, David Franklin, suggested a duet with Hathaway, which resulted in the finished work. "The Closer I Get to You" spent two weeks as number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in April 1978, and peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song charted in the top ten spots for fourteen weeks in Canada and one week in France. It was eventually certified gold in the United States on May 1978, and became one of their most familiar duets. ==Background and composition== "The Closer I Get to You" was written by Reggie Lucas and James Mtume, who were members of Roberta Flack's touring band and played on ''Blue Lights in the Basement''. They wrote the song between tours and, during the sessions for the album, brought it to Flack's producer Joe Ferla, who played it for Flack. Ferla, Rubina Flake and Gene McDaniels produced the song, and Ahmet Ertegun served as its executive producer. Flack and Donny Hathaway, good friends while attending Howard University, recorded a self-titled album of duets in 1972. Five years later, the duo collaborated again on "The Closer I Get to You". "The Closer I Get to You" was not originally written as a duet. Flack's manager David Franklin, who had worked with Hathaway in the past, decided to re-write the song to include him. Hathaway had been suffering from severe bouts of clinical depression at the time, which often forced him to be hospitalized. The depression also caused mood swings, which adversely affected his partnership with Flack. After Flack and Hathaway were reconciled, the producers had to get permission from the hospital to fly Hathaway out for the recording sessions. Following Hathaway's death in 1979, Flack revealed the importance of recording the song in an interview with ''Jet'':
Flack announced that "The Closer I Get to You" would forever be a dedication to Hathaway, and that all money made from the song would be donated to Hathaway's widow and two children.〔 According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "The Closer I Get to You" is set in common time and moves at a tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of A major and follows the chord progression Dmaj9–Cm7–Fm7–Amaj7. Flack sings in the vocal range of C4–F5.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Roberta Flack 'The Closer I Get To You" Sheet Music )〕 "The Closer I Get to You" was released as a 7" single with "Love is the Healing" as its B-side. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Closer I Get to You」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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