Ain't Nobody



"Ain't Nobody" is a song recorded by American funk band Rufus and American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on November 4, 1983, as a bonus track for their live album Stompin' at the Savoy. "Ain't Nobody" quickly gathered popularity, and reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart, and number twenty-two on the US Billboard Hot 100. It has become one of Khan's signature songs.

Rufus keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski wrote the song around a repeating synthesizer loop backed by a Linn LM-1 drum computer. However, drummer John J. R. Robinson played real drums for the recording session. The band did a democratic vote and they decided to include the song in their album repertoire. Once the song was recorded, Warner executives wanted to issue another song as the album's first single. Wolinski threatened to give the song to Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones for Thriller if the song was not the lead-off single. The label relented and "Ain't Nobody" was issued and hit number one on the R&B chart for the week ending October 15, 1983.

The song was also included in the soundtrack of the movie Breakin'.

Composition
The song is performed in the key of E♭ minor with a tempo of 104 beats per minute in common time. Khan's vocals span from G♭3 to E♭5 in the song.

Cover versions, samples, and remixes
George Michael covered the song in his 1991 "Cover To Cover" tour.

Diana King recorded a cover single in 1995, reaching No. 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on Billboard's Dance chart and No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.


 * 1991: Yo-Yo (sampled in "Ain't Nobody Better")
 * 1994: Jaki Graham
 * 1994: Amii Stewart
 * 1994: Klymaxx
 * 1994: K.W.S. with Gwen Dickey
 * 1995: Diana King
 * 1995: Regina Carter
 * 1996: LL Cool J
 * 1997: The Course
 * 1999: Peabo Bryson
 * 2000: Hermes House Band
 * 2001: Jeff Lorber
 * 2003: Kelly Price (Bringing Down the House OST)
 * 2003: Liberty X (sampled in "Being Nobody")
 * 2004: DJ Kayslay featuring Fat Joe and Joe Budden (sampled in "Not Your Average Joe")
 * 2004: Marcia Hines
 * 2005: Natasha Bedingfield featuring Daniel Bedingfield
 * 2007: KT Tunstall
 * 2010: Alphabeat
 * 2011: Knorkator
 * 2011: Mary J. Blige
 * 2011: Brandon T. Jackson featuring Jessica Lucas (Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son OST)
 * 2012: Scooter (as Mashup) on "It's A Biz (Ain't Nobody)"
 * 2013: Jasmine Thompson (No. 32 in UK and Scotland)
 * 2013: Jon Gomm
 * 2013: Youngblood Brass Band
 * 2014: Jesse Jagz featuring Tesh Carter (sampled in "Jargo (Ain't Nobody)"
 * 2015: Felix Jaehn featuring Jasmine Thompson

Jaki Graham version
In 1994, singer Jaki Graham recorded the song and released it as a single. It reached No. 44 in the UK and number one on US Billboard Dance chart.

LL Cool J version
A commercially successful cover of "Ain't Nobody" was a version by rapper LL Cool J, who recorded an interpolation of the song for the soundtrack to the 1996 film Beavis and Butt-head Do America.

Charts
Released as the soundtrack's second single, this version reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the song peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 on the Hot Rap Singles Chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The song was also a hit in the UK for Gwen Dickey and KWS (reaching No. 21) and The Course (No. 8).

Felix Jaehn version
In 2015, German music producer and DJ Felix Jaehn released a remix titled "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" featuring vocals by British singer Jasmine Thompson. It is the lead single for his eponymous 2016 debut EP Felix Jaehn. The remix was based on a solo release of the song by Thompson in 2013, when Thompson was 13, which had peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the Felix Jaehn remix became a far bigger international chart success, peaking at number one or two in a number of European countries (including number two in the United Kingdom) as well as the top 10 in other European countries and Australia.

Track listing

 * 1) "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" (Felix Jaehn featuring Jasmine Thompson) – 4:01
 * 2) "I Do" (Felix Jaehn featuring Poppy Haddigan) – 3:02

Charts

 * Weekly charts (for Felix Jaehn feat. Jasmine Thompson)


 * Year-end charts