My Cherie Amour (song)

"My Cherie Amour"
Single by Stevie Wonder
from the album My Cherie Amour
B-side	"I Don't Know Why I Love You"
Released	January 28, 1969
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville USA; 1966
Genre	Soul/pop
Length	2:54
Label	Tamla T 54180
Writer(s)	Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy
Producer	Henry Cosby
Stevie Wonder singles chronology
"For Once in My Life" (1968) "My Cherie Amour" (1969) "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (1969)

"My Cherie Amour" is a 1969 soul classic by Motown singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder.

The song was originally recorded in 1966, but not released (it was subsequently remixed for release in 1969). The song was co-written by Wonder, Sylvia Moy, and Henry Cosby; Cosby also served as producer of the song.

Content

The song was originally written about Wonder's girlfriend while he was at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan, and had the title "Oh My Marcia". After they broke up, the lyrics and title were altered to the more general "cherie amour". The song became a #4 hit on both the Billboard pop and R&B singles charts in 1969.

Chart performance

Chart (1969)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles	4
UK Singles Chart	4
Canadian RPM Top Singles	14
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary	14

Boney M. version

"My Cherie Amour" was covered as a single by German band Boney M., later included in their final album Eye Dance (1985). After two German Top 20-singles, "My Chérie Amour" was only a minor success, peaking at #55 in the German charts - the single was not released in either Spain or Japan. Producer Frank Farian got the idea to cover the song after Stevie Wonder had recorded in his studios in Rosbach. Like Boney M.'s previous singles, only new male member Reggie Tsiboe could be heard on the single, the backing vocals being done by studio session singers Amy & Elaine Goff. The B-side "Sample City" was sung entirely by Frank Farian and was written on the chords of "I Can't Stand the Rain".

Releases

7" Single

• "My Chérie Amour" - 4:00 / "Sample City" (Farian) - 4:00 (Hansa 107 350-100, Germany)

12" Single

• "My Chérie Amour" - 8:51 / "Sample City" - 4:15 (Hansa 601 686-213, Germany)
• "My Chérie Amour" (12" edit) - 8:30 / "Sample City" - 4:15 (Ariola 02.601686.27, Portugal)

Other covers

"My Cherie Amour" was featured on the Jackson 5's 1969 debut album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, with lead vocals from Jermaine Jackson. It was also covered by vocalists Andy Williams (for his 1969 RIAA-certified gold album Get Together with Andy Williams) and Billy Eckstine (for his 1971 album Feel the Warm). Its familiar bass line has also been used in several other songs, most notably "Until You Come Back to Me" by Aretha Franklin and "Soul Inspiration" by Anita Baker.

Toward the end of the 1970s, the song was also covered by several disco artists, including Rhythm Heritage (1976), Alice Street Gang (1978), Triple S Connection (1979) and Orquesta Novel (1980) and italian singer Mina (1987). In 1994, Mexican singer Cristian Castro covered the song in Spanish as "Mi Querido Amor" on his album El Camino del Alma. In 2007, Eros Ramazzotti covered it in one track of the tribute album Rhythms del Mundo Classics by the Buena Vista Social Club.