Please Don't Go

Album

Do You Wanna Go Party

Label

TK Records

Genre

Soul

Composer(s)

Harry Casey;Richard Finch

Entered Chart

Aug 25, 1979

Peak Date

Jan 5, 1980

Released

July 12, 1979

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

T.K. 1035 A

B-Side

I Betcha Didn't Know That

This was KC & The Sunshine Band's first love ballad, and the last of their incredible five #1 hits in the United States. Like all their hits, it was written by their bass player/producer Rick Finch and frontman Harry Wayne Casey. In a Songfacts interview with Casey, he told the story. "Near the end of 1978, I was kind of anti-disco believe it or not, and I was trying to change a little bit from 'That's The Way (I Like It)' and 'Shake Your Booty' and all that," he said. "I was in the studio waiting for the next session to start, I'm sitting at the piano and I just start playing these chords, and I remember how beautiful they were. I decided that was the song I was going to record that day, and that became 'Please Don't Go.' I called in Mike Lewis, who did guitar arrangements and stuff, and he brought in the orchestra with the French horns and the flutes and put a full orchestra on the track." Rick Finch told Songfacts about making this song: "I started recognizing that all the stuff we put out was uptempo. We didn't have any slow songs because I figured that slow songs were boring, and we didn't want to have people going to sleep on us. So I said, 'Okay, we better come up with something different.' So we started trying to reinvent ourselves without changing the sound too much. And that was really tough for us to do. So we had a little off point album, which would be the album called Who Do You Love. That's when we were trying to figure out what to do next. And then after that we came up with 'Please Don't Go.'" Finch parted ways with KC & The Sunshine Band soon after this was released, and the split was far from amicable. He explains what led to it: "I remember being in Disney World in California, and there was a certain moment where everyone was just flipping out and we were almost fist-fighting. And I said, 'So this is what it's come to.' And I was like, 'Well, I don't want to be here anymore, and I quit.' As we grew, the differences got greater and the distractions got greater, and people were all over the place. So I'm like, 'OK, this is not what I want.' All the craziness on the road, and everything that was going on, I just didn't feel like I fit into that, I don't subscribe to that craziness. If you listen very closely when I'm producing the vocal on that, you'll hear the conviction in KC's voice, because that was the absolute last song that I did produce for KC & The Sunshine Band. And then I left, and the managers recommended that KC get rid of the band and just make it a solo career. So he goes and signs this deal with Epic, I came back for a few minutes to help patch up a song here or there, like 'Give It Up.'" In 1992 a dance version of the song was recorded by the Eurodance group Double You and was a major worldwide hit. It earned Gold and Platinum records in a number of European countries including Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, and many other countries throughout the world. In Britain and the US it was only a minor hit, but a similar cover with the same distinctive arrangement by the British group KWS topped the UK chart for five weeks and reached #6 in the US. However, KWS were sued by Double You's record label over the similarities between the two versions. The proceedings lasted three years, with the judge finally ruling that there was a separate copyright in an arrangement, distinct from the copyright in the original song. KWS had three more UK Top 30 hits with covers of "Rock Your Baby," "Hold Back The Night" and "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)." When they were nominated for the Best British Newcomer award at the 1993 BRIT Awards alongside another covers group, Undercover, the decision drew much criticism from the British music press. This song was featured on season 2, episode 3 of the CBS TV show Cold Case titled "Daniela." >>

I love you
Yeah

Babe, I love you so
I want you to know
That I'm going to miss your love
The minute you walk out that door

So please don't go
Don't go
Don't go away
Please don't go
Don't go
I'm begging you to stay

If you leave
At least in my lifetime
I've had one dream come true
I was blessed to be loved
By someone as wonderful as you

So please don't go
Don't go
Don't go away
Please don't go
Don't go
I'm begging you to stay
Hey, hey, hey

Yeah
Babe, I love you so
I, I want you to know
That I'm going to miss your love
The minute you walk out that door
So please don't go
Don't go
Don't go away
Hey, hey, hey

I need your love
I'm down on my knees
Beggin' please, please, please
Don't go
Don't you hear me, baby
Don't leave me now
Oh, no, no, no, no
Please don't go
I want you to know
That I, I, I, love you so

Please don't leave me, babe
Please don't go