Peak
23
Weeks
16
Score
1,720
Chart Year
1982
This song is about wishing to remember a love, or even stave off the passing of what could be a long-lasting love between two people. The lyric is heartfelt and engaging, but the song is best known for its groove, a supple slice of R&B-pop that evolved past the disco sound. That groove proved enduring: In 1997 it was interpolated to form the basis of Will Smith's "Men In Black," a #1 hit and the title track to his blockbuster movie. That song reworked the lyrics to "they won't let you remember" because the Men In Black erase the memories of those who have seen alien activity. Rushen was a prodigy, having won the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival at the age of 18. She released her first album in 1974 and had a number of R&B hits, but "Forget Me Nots" was her only song to crack the Top 40 on the Hot 100. A forget-me-not is a kind of flower. It is traditionally given to someone so that person will remember you. Rushen wrote this song with the singer Terri McFadden and the bass player Freddie Washington - he also played on the track. Rushen's label, Elektra Records, didn't hear the hit potential in this song, so she had to fight for it, taking promotion into her own hands. "We knew clearly that the song 'Forget Me Nots' was a single but the record company people sat there and said, 'we don't hear anything on here we can do anything with,'" she told Soul Music.com. "We believed in 'Forget Me Nots' so I took most of my life savings – which was not a lot – and Charles Mims (the producer) took some of his and we hired an independent promoter to take it and run with it. We had good reason to believe the record company might be wrong. I toured that year also and man, the record took off so fast, faster than ever before and faster than what we expected. 'Forget Me Nots' took off like wildfire. Afterwards the president of the label found out I had used my life savings so he wrote me a check to reimburse me for the money I spent on hiring an independent promotion man!
Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not I want you to remember Those were the times we had Sharing a joy that we thought would last Memories of love and affection Never really was just like a dream Was it the simple things That made me so crazy about you Was it your charm or your passion It's not hard to believe I love you and I need you so I Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not I want you to remember Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not I want you to remember Did we give up too soon? Maybe we needed just a little room Wondering how it all happened Maybe we just need a little time Though we did end as friends Given the chance we could love again She'll always love you forever It's not hard to believe I want you and I need you so I Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not I want you to remember Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not I want you to remember Sending you forget me nots Baby, please forgive me not Good times we had They weren't so bad What a life we shared Pretty baby, I still care Sending you forget me nots To help me to remember Baby, please forget me not
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 1, 1982 | 90 | 36 |
| 2 | May 8, 1982 | 72 | 54 |
| 3 | May 15, 1982 | 61 | 65 |
| 4 | May 22, 1982 | 51 | 75 |
| 5 | May 29, 1982 | 43 | 83 |
| 6 | Jun 5, 1982 | 37 | 89 |
| 7 | Jun 12, 1982 | 33 | 93 |
| 8 | Jun 19, 1982 | 29 | 97 |
| 9 | Jun 26, 1982 | 25 | 101 |
| 10 | Jul 3, 1982 | 23 | 103 |
| 11 | Jul 10, 1982 | 23 | 103 |
| 12 | Jul 17, 1982 | 23 | 103 |
| 13 | Jul 24, 1982 | 46 | 80 |
| 14 | Jul 31, 1982 | 53 | 73 |
| 15 | Aug 7, 1982 | 88 | 38 |
| 16 | Aug 14, 1982 | 97 | 29 |