"Something to Talk About"
Single by Bonnie Raitt
from the album Luck of the Draw
ReleasedJune 3, 1991 (1991-06-03)[1]
GenreBlues-pop[2]
Length3:47
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Shirley Eikhard
Producer(s)Bonnie Raitt, Don Was
Bonnie Raitt singles chronology
"Love Letter"
(1990) 		"Something to Talk About"
(1991) 		"I Can't Make You Love Me"
(1991)

"Something to Talk About" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Shirley Eikhard and recorded by American singer Bonnie Raitt for her 1991 album Luck of the Draw. It was serviced to US radio on June 3, 1991. Two single versions were released: a 7-inch single with the B-side "One Part Be My Lover" and a 12-inch single with these two songs and "I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again". In turn, this song was included on the EP version of Raitt’s 2000 single of "The Fundamental Things" taken from her 1998 album Fundamental. It was also included in 2003’s greatest hits compilation The Best of Bonnie Raitt. Live versions appear on 1995's Road Tested and 2006's Bonnie Raitt and Friends.

Background

Anne Murray wanted to record this song in 1985, but her producers did not think it would be a hit.[3] She still called the album that she released that year Something to Talk About even though it did not include this song.[4]

Chart performance

The song was popular on multiple formats of radio: it peaked at number five on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart,[5] number 12 on the Album Rock Tracks chart,[6] and number five on the Hot 100, becoming her highest-charting hit and is her only single to reach the top 10 on the chart.[7] It was also a success in Canada, where it rose to number three on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart,[8] and in New Zealand, where it reached number 33.[9]

Music video

The video for the song was directed by Matt Mahurin. It features Raitt with two guitarists performing the song at a community event, while other scenes show older couples dancing, people in silly wardrobe acting goofy for a film crew, and many people in a swimming pool.

Nominations and awards

Raitt won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1992 for her recording of this song (Oleta Adams, Mariah Carey, Amy Grant and Whitney Houston were the other finalists). The track also received a nomination for Record of the Year, losing to "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole.[10]

Eikhard received a Juno Award nomination as Songwriter of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1992,[11] and later a SOCAN Classics award from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.[12]

Charts

Cover versions

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Year Singer/group Album Comments
1998 Willie Clayton Something to Talk About[21]
2000 Tom Ball, Kenny Blackwell, Dennis "Cannonball" Caplinger, Tom Corbett, Rudi Ekstein, Curtis Jones, John Moore, Bob Nichols, David West and Gabe Witcher Angel from Montgomery: Bluegrass Celebrates Bonnie Rait
2003 St. Lawrence University Sinners Sing
2005 Wenche I’m a Country Girl
2006 Yester, Belland & Somerville Triple Gold
2007 Eddie Levert Sr. & Gerald Levert Something to Talk About
2007 SHeDAISY The Guardian Soundtrack
2007 Melanie Joy Hall Falling to the Moon
2007 Sanjaya Malakar American Idol Season 6: Greatest Hits: Collector's Edition
2009 Heidi Ellis Maritime Idol 2008
2010 Note-oriety Get Gone
  • a cappella version
2012 X-Factors The Pink Album
  • a cappella version
2013 Jennifer Love Hewitt N/A
  • sung on her show "The Client List"
2017 Britney Spears N/A

"Something to Talk About" was utilized as the theme for the 1995 sitcom Women of the House (CBS-TV): this version was sung by the song's composer Shirley Eikhard.

In 2007, the country music group SHeDAISY recorded a cover of "Something to Talk About" for the soundtrack to the film The Guardian.

The song has been performed numerous times on American Idol, including by Kimberly Caldwell in season 2, Fantasia Barrino in season 3, Kellie Pickler in season 5 and Sanjaya Malakar in season 6. Sanjaya changed "how about love" from the chorus to "other than hair" during his farewell performance.

David Cross and Jon Benjamin perform a live duet on the 2007 DVD The Comedians Of Comedy: Live at the Troubadour. It was sung by Will Ferrell in the 2008 film Step Brothers and also featured in the 1995 film Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid.

Also, in 2008, the song was covered by Daryl Hall on his video podcast show, Live From Daryl's House with special guest, KT Tunstall.[22]

In August 2017, Britney Spears covered the song during her Las Vegas residency show Britney: Piece of Me.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Spokane Chronicle – Google News Archive". Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  2. ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024. The swaggering blues-pop sparkler where Raitt 'fesses up to sultry attraction between she and a companion...
  3. ^ Susan Beyer, "Anne Murray's Million-dollar instincts". Ottawa Citizen, November 2, 1991.
  4. ^ "Something to Talk About". Songfacts.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Bonnie Raitt Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Bonnie Raitt Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Bonnie Raitt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1624." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Bonnie Raitt – Something to Talk About". Top 40 Singles.
  10. ^ "34th Annual Grammy Awards – 1992". Rock On The Net. February 25, 1992. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  11. ^ "Adams leads Juno pack with seven nominations". Montreal Gazette, February 13, 1992.
  12. ^ Cheryl Gillard, "Shirley Eikhard". The Canadian Encyclopedia, September 4, 2013.
  13. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 229.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1631." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Bonnie Raitt – Something to Talk About" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  16. ^ "Bonnie Raitt – Something to Talk About" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  18. ^ "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved July 25, 2016 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  19. ^ "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-14.
  20. ^ "1991 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-36. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  21. ^ Hamilton, Andrew (June 2, 1998). "Something to Talk About – Willie Clayton : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  22. ^ "KT Tunstall & Daryl Hall [Part 1 of 5] – Something To Talk About [Live From Daryl's House]". Youtube.com. March 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  23. ^ "Britney Spears Blasts Media, Sings Cover of Bonnie Raitt's 'Something to Talk About'". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
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