To Be with You

"To Be with You"
Single by Mr. Big
from the album Lean into It
B-side	"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind"
Released	December 21, 1991
Format	Cassette, CD single, CD maxi, 7" single
Recorded	1991 Rumbo Recorders, Canoga Park, CA Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, CA
Genre	Soft rock, acoustic rock
Length	3:27
Label	Atlantic
Writer(s)	Eric Martin, David Grahame
Producer(s)	Kevin Elson
Mr. Big singles chronology
"Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (1991) "To Be with You" (1991) "Just Take My Heart" (1992)

"To Be with You" is a soft rock^[1] song by American hard rock band Mr. Big. It was released in late 1991 as the second single from their second album, Lean into It. The song first charted on December 21, 1991, appearing in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.^[2] It rose in the charts in over 20 countries, reaching number one in the U.S.^[3] It also reached a peak of number three in the UK.^[4]

Background and writing

The song was written and composed by Eric Martin during his teen years, with guitarist Paul Gilbert contributing to its melodic arrangements later on. Writing credit is also given to David Grahame, a songwriter working for the label at the time.

While in Gilbert's apartment at Yucca Street in L.A., he and Martin were laying out their compositions. Martin had a ballad called "To Be With You". Gilbert had his psychedelic rock song called "Green Tinted Sixties Mind". Both felt the two songs were strong enough to be included in their upcoming album, despite it being purely rock;^[5] and true enough, these songs remained throughout the course of their career as a group and as solo artists.

Content

"To Be With You" is about a man who has his eye on a woman who has recently experienced a broken heart from a previous relationship. When Martin was a sophomore in high school, he was friends with his older sister's friend (who was a senior). She would give him rides to school and tell him about all the boy problems she had. Martin had a huge crush on her, but didn't tell her since he knew a senior would never go out with a sophomore. Martin wrote this song about her.

Music video

The music video was directed by Nancy Bennett and features the band performing in a railroad car.^[6] The video changes from black & white to color around the halfway mark.

Personnel

• Eric Martin - lead vocals
• Paul Gilbert - acoustic guitar, handclaps, backing vocals
• Billy Sheehan - bass guitar, handclaps, bass drum, backing vocals
• Pat Torpey - tambourine, bass drum, handclaps, backing vocals

Formats and track listings

7" single

1. "To Be with You" (LP Version) (3:27)
2. "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (LP Version) (3:30)

12" maxi

1. "To Be with You"
2. "A Little Too Loose" (Live)
3. "The Drill Song (Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy)" (Live)
4. "Alive And Kickin'" (Live)

CD maxi

1. "To Be with You" (3:27)
2. "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (3:30)
3. "Alive And Kickin'" (5:28)

Release history

Country	Release date
United States	November 25, 1991
United Kingdom	January 1, 1992

Charts

Peak positions Chart (1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 1 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 6 France (SNEP)[12] 10 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[17] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 1 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[4] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[3] 1 US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[3] 11 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[3] 19

End of year charts End of year chart (1992) Position Australian Singles Chart[20] 4 Austrian Singles Chart[21] 5 Dutch Top 40[22] 7 Swiss Singles Chart[23] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[24] 12 End of decade charts Chart (1990–1999) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[25] 90 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified[26] Germany[27] Gold 1992 250,000 Japan[28] Gold June 2015 100,000 Netherlands[29] Gold 1992 40,000 U.S.[30] Gold February 12, 1992 500,000

Chart successions

References

1. Popoff, Martin (2014). The Big Book of Hair Metal. Voyageur Press. p. 202. ISBN 9781627883757.
2. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 814. ISBN 9780823076772.
3. Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. http://www.rocksquad.net/eric_martin_interview.htm
6. Mr. Big artist videography mvdbase.com
7. "Australian-charts.com – Mr. Big – To Be with You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
8. "Austriancharts.at – Mr. Big – To Be with You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
9. "Ultratop.be – Mr. Big – To Be with You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
11. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
12. "Lescharts.com – Mr. Big – To Be with You" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "Musicline.de – Mr. Big Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
14. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mr. Big search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Mr. Big – To Be with You". Top 40 Singles.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Mr. Big – To Be with You". VG-lista.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Mr. Big – To Be with You". Singles Top 100.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Mr. Big – To Be with You". Swiss Singles Chart.
20. "1992 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
21. "1992 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
22. "Single top 100 over 1992" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
23. "1992 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
24. "Billboard Top 100 - 1992". Retrieved 2010-07-30.
25. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
26. "Certification for every country in the world" (pdf). IFPI. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('To Be with You')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
28. "Japan certifications". RIAJ. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
29. "Dutch certifications, database". Nvpi. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
30. "U.S. certifications". Riaa. Retrieved 14 April 2010.

External links

• Official Website
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics