The group has also two number one singles on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, “Say It’s Gonna Rain” and “Fading Away”, and continues to create music into the 21st century- and is currently performing live (Bob Rosenberg and Elin Michaels).
The early years:
Bob Rosenberg was born on January 18, 1959, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother, Gloria Mann, was a pop singer who had two Top 40 pop hits in the mid-1950s on the Sound Records label, "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)" and "Teen Age Prayer". After attending school in Florida, Rosenberg became a DJ at various local events, and by 1985 he was working at a Miami CHR radio station, WHQT (Hot 105). He remixed and edited songs as a radio-mix DJ for the station, and these mixes became popular in the Miami area. Rosenberg created a rap record in 1985 that was titled "Miami Vice", based on the popular TV show and its theme song, but MCA Records claimed that Rosenberg had infringed on their copyright. He also remixed and edited the song "Beat Box" for 2 Live Crew's 1986 debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.
During 1986 and 1987, Rosenberg worked with various other musicians to create original music. He chose the name Will to Power for the group as homage to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of an individual's fundamental Will to Power.
1986 to 1988: Rosenberg wrote "Dreamin'" as a tribute to his sister, Robin, after she had died. Radio program director Bill Tanner was the first PD to play "Dreamin" on Power 96 in Miami, Florida.Released in Miami on the Thrust Records label; "Dreamin'" became a regional hit and got the attention of Epic Records, who picked up the song for distribution to radio stations and dance clubs around the country. The song peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in August 1987. It also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart in September of that year. Epic Records asked Rosenberg if he had enough material for an album. In June 1988, Will to Power released a follow-up single, "Say It's Gonna Rain", This song reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1988 and spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in August and September of that year.
In the spring of 1987, after Dreamin single was released on Rosenberg’s label Thrust records, CBS/Epic and other labels took note of it. The single became an instant hit. Bob Rosenberg was exclusively offered a record deal, and was signed with CBS/Epic Records in April 1987. Although he was signed with just a single, Rosenberg along with his then girlfriend, and one of the five vocalists on the song Dreamin’, Suzi Carr, and her friend, Saxaphonist, Dr J, began touring and performing back-to-back at different shows nationwide.
Rosenberg’s contract included the opportunity to record various albums. Rosenberg began the planning and spent much of 1987 and early 1988 working on new material with a variety of different session vocalists, (Carr, Newman, Lorenzo, and others), and musicians including (keyboardists Lawrence Dermer, Lester Mendez and David Rosenthal). Will to Power’s self-titled debut album, was released on Epic Records in March 1988. Along with the aforementioned songs "Dreamin'" and "Say It's Gonna Rain", the album contained a medley of two popular rock songs from the 1970s, "Baby, I Love Your Way" (a 1976 hit record for Peter Frampton) and "Free Bird" (a well-known track by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1973). This medley, titled "Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Free Baby)" Although Epic was reluctant to release this hybrid song as a single, Rosenberg had distributed copies of the song to various radio stations in the Miami vicinity, including WPOW (Power 96). According to Rosenberg, "they played it, and a few other stations caught onto it, so Epic put it out." This song became the group's biggest hit, spending a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1988. It also became the group's highest-charting hit in the UK, reaching No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart. That month, the album reached its peak position of No. 68 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. A fourth single from the album, "Fading Away", which spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1989.
1989 to 1991: Journey Home
After the success of the debut album, Will to Power's follow-up album, Journey Home, was released in late 1990. Rosenberg continued with the group, producing the album, recording vocals and writing most of the songs. The primary female vocalist was then Elin Michaels, a dance-pop singer who sang all of the background vocals (along with Rosenberg's cousin, Rachel Newman, and former Expose singer, Ale Lorenzo), on all of the songs for the first album. Elin, Rachel, and Ale’s background voices are prominent in both, “Say It's Gonna Rain and "Fading Away”. Singer Elin Michaels had respectively released some 12" singles on the Knockout Records label in the mid-1980s. Additional musicians who worked on the album include Donna Allen, Dee Dee Wilde, Wendy Pederson and Harry King on additional vocals, Ed Calle and Tony Concepción on horns, Orlando Hernandez on drums and Lester Mendez on keyboards. The album appeared on the Billboard 200 albums chart in February 1991, peaking at #178.
The first single to be released from the album was "I'm Not in Love", a cover version of a song by the British art rock band 10cc that was a No. 1 UK and No. 2 US pop hit in 1975. Will to Power's version made the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 7 in January 1991 in addition to reaching No. 4 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. The song reached No. 29 in the UK pop chart. The follow-up single was a cover of the disco hit "Boogie Nights" by the band Heatwave; however, this version failed to chart. Other songs on the album include "Fly Bird" and "Clock on the Wall".
1992 to present
In 1996, Sony Music Entertainment (the parent company of Epic Records) released a Will to Power compilation album, Love Power, on their Sony Special Products label. It consists of songs that had appeared on the group's first two albums, including their two US pop top ten songs, "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley" and "I'm Not in Love".
The group released a new album, Spirit Warrior, in 2004 on Straight Blast Records, which was followed by an EP in 2006 titled Spirit Warrior: The Remixes. For this album, Rosenberg collaborated with vocalists such as Gioia Bruno (member of the freestyle music group Exposé), Donna Allen and Wendy Pederson, and remixers such as Giuseppe D and the Wonder Twins.
Critical reception:
Allmusic's retrospective reviews of the group's first two albums are generally positive, with Will to Power receiving four stars out of a possible five and Journey Home receiving three stars. Entertainment Weekly gave Journey Home a D+ rating in a February 1991 review by Bill Wyman, stating, "The material is predominantly colorless pop songs". However, music journalist Chuck Eddy mentions tracks from Journey Home in his 1997 book, The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music. In the section titled "Automotive Rock", Eddy mentions that the song "Journey Home" is the title track of what may have been his favorite album of the 1990s, that it is seemingly based on the 1981 song "Cruising with the Deuce" by Quarterflash and that Rosenberg "says he's got to keep his motor running, but not only can you feel the machine's momentum (in the rhythm), you can also feel stormclouds settling in (in the voices)."
Baby I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley
Will to Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And they're moving across the page
Suddenly the day turns into night
Far away from the city
But don't hesitate
'Cause your love, your love won't wait ho-no-no
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way every day
Ooh wanna be with you night and day
Hey yeah
I love your way
If I leave here tomorrow
Will you still remember me
For I must be traveling on now
There's so many places I gotta see
But if I stayed here with you girl
Things just wouldn't be the same
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird will never change,
And this bird will never change
Shadows grow so long before my eyes
With the help of some fireflies
I wonder how they have the power to shine
I can see them under the pines
But don't hesitate
'Cause your love won't wait
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way (night and day)
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
Every day now
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way (night and day, night and day)
I love your way
Ooh baby I love your way ('cause I'm as free as a bird now)
Give me you way, wanna tell you I love your way (A free as a bird now)
Ooh baby I love your way
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way (night and day)
Ooh baby I love your way (every day, every day)
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way (night and day, night and day, oh-o)
Ooh baby I love your way (night and day)
The song "Baby I Love Your Way / Freebird Medley" by Will to Power is a combination of two popular songs from the 1970s - "Baby I Love Your Way" by Peter Frampton and "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The lyrics of the medley describe the singer's love for their partner and their desire to be with them all the time, even in the face of uncertainty and change.
The first verse sets the stage for the song, with the shadows growing long and the day turning into night as the singer is far away from the city. Despite this, they encourage their partner not to hesitate and assure them that their love won't wait. The chorus then expresses the singer's love for their partner's way and their desire to be with them all the time.
The second verse begins with lyrics from "Free Bird," with the singer wondering if their partner will still remember them if they leave. They express a desire to travel and see the world, but acknowledge that staying with their partner would change everything. The chorus repeats, with the addition of the line "Give me your way," and the song ends with a repeat of the chorus and a final "I love your way" from the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Shadows grow so long before my eyes
As the day turns into night, the shadows become bigger and more frightening.
And they're moving across the page
The shadows creep across the ground and move like a menacing army.
Suddenly the day turns into night
Without warning, and all too quickly, the day ends.
Far away from the city
The setting is somewhere remote and serene.
But don't hesitate
The singer advises his love not to wait and to seize the moment.
'Cause your love, your love won't wait ho-no-no
Their love is too precious to let time pass them by.
Ooh baby I love your way every day
The singer confesses his love for his partner and how much he adores her.
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way every day
He wants to make sure his love is expressed every single day.
Ooh wanna be with you night and day
He wants to be with her every moment of the day.
Hey yeah
A joyful and enthusiastic interjection.
I love your way
A simple and direct declaration of love.
If I leave here tomorrow
The singer wonders if he leaves the location the next day, will his love still remain.
Will you still remember me
He wonders if his love will still cherish him even if he is absent.
For I must be traveling on now
He reminds his love that it's time for him to go.
There's so many places I gotta see
He wants to explore many places he has yet to visit.
But if I stayed here with you girl
The singer realizes he would be content staying with his love.
Things just wouldn't be the same
However, he acknowledges their lives would not be the same if he stayed.
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
He now feels liberated to do as he pleases.
And this bird will never change,
He is entirely sure his mindset will remain constant.
And this bird will never change
Reiterating his steadfastness and commitment to his beliefs.
With the help of some fireflies
The singer enjoys the mystical moment in the dark, illuminated by fireflies.
I wonder how they have the power to shine
He marvels at the natural phenomenon unfolding in front of him.
I can see them under the pines
The fireflies are glowing under the pine trees.
Cause your love won't wait
The lyrical notion that love should be acted upon right away as it’s worth it.
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
A repetition of an earlier line reinforcing the singer's admiration for his partner.
Every day now
His love for his partner is a constant and daily display.
Give me your way, wanna tell you I love your way
He yearns to give himself up to his love, and once again tells her he loves her.
A free as a bird now
The singer embraces his new-found freedom.
Ooh baby I love your way
A sincere and affectionate reminder of how much he loves his partner.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER KENNETH FRAMPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pierfreire
Shadows grow so long before my eyes
And they're moving across the page
Suddenly the day turns into night
Far away from the city
But don't hesitate
'Cause your love, your love won't wait oh no no
Ooh baby I love your way every day
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way every day
Ooh wanna be with you night and day
Hey yeah I love your way
If I leave here tomorrow
Will you still remember me
For I must be traveling on now
There's so many places I gotta see
But if I stayed here with you girl
Things just wouldn't be the same
'Cause I'm as free as a bird now
And this bird will never change
And this bird will never change
Shadows grow so long before my eyes
With the help of some fireflies
I wonder how they have the power to shine
I can see them under the pines
But don't hesitate
'Cause your love won't wait
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way (night and day)
Ooh baby I love your way (every day)
Every day now
Ooh wanna tell you I love your way
(Night and day, night and day)
I love your way
Ooh baby I love your way
('Cause I'm as free as a bird now)
Give me your way, wanna tell you I love your way
@MonkeyBoo
Such an awesome song!
That girl can sing... gives me chills!
@suzicarr9847
Thank you MonkeyBoo!
xo
@arnellhightower
Who told that girl she couldn't sing.
@ghettowizard378
MonkeyBoo Same here!!! I always get chills when I hear that POWERFUL VOICE!!!!
@richardb2089
Suzi Carr incredible voice and performance
@cali420king
The original is better. Both songs.
@wernerheusser9556
I am an old men now, I've had my best times (between 20 and 30) in the 80's, when I hear these song again, I understand; I was blessed!
@alphashaitan65
You say this, but did you ever have a mullet like Will to Power's Bob Rosenberg?
@JannifferMonteiroGalvao-of6pw
😀😉😍😘💤✨💜💗💔💋💞💓💎💍👣💭💙💛
@zoranmrdjenovic8127
This song is proof that the 80s were the best time for music. 80s were the best! We may not have had cell phones, but we knew how to have fun. 80s forever! Listen to good music every day and be happy. Greetings from Smyrna, Georgia. ❤80s❤