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)."
I'm Not In Love
Will to Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love
I'm not in love
The lyrics to Will to Power's song I'm Not in Love tell a story of a person who is exploring their own feelings towards someone they have been seeing. The singer is clear in saying that they are not in love, and that their actions should not be taken as a sign of anything more. Despite this clarity, the singer keeps the picture of this person on the wall, but only as a way to cover up a stain. This emphasizes the idea that the singer is not completely invested in the relationship, and that it may even be a bit superficial.
The repetition of "I'm not in love" throughout the song seems to almost be an attempt by the singer to convince themselves of this fact. The use of phrases like "just a silly phase" and "doesn't mean that much to me" show a lack of conviction when it comes to the relationship. The singer also warns the other person not to make a fuss or tell their friends about the two of them, reinforcing the idea that they want to keep things casual.
In short, the lyrics to I'm Not in Love depict a person who is unsure about their feelings for someone else, and is being upfront about this with the other person. They enjoy spending time together, but don't want to be seen as tied down to anything more. It's a song about wanting to keep things simple, even if the other person wants more.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not in love
I am not romantically in love with you
So don't forget it
Please don't get the wrong idea about my feelings
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
These feelings are not serious, just temporary
And just because
However, even though
I call you up
I still like to talk to you sometimes
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
But that doesn't mean I am committed to you or that you have an advantage in any way
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
I want to make it clear that I am not in love with you
I like to see you
I do enjoy spending time with you
But then again
However
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
It doesn't mean that I have strong romantic feelings for you
So if I call you
When I reach out to you
Don't make a fuss
Please don't overreact
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
Don't make it into a big deal or gossip to others about us
I keep your picture
I still have a photo of you
Upon the wall
Hanging on my wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
The picture is only there to cover up a blemish on my wall
So don't you ask me
Please don't request
To give it back
That I return the picture to you
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I understand that you're aware the picture is not sentimental to me
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Don't expect me to feel differently anytime soon
Ooh you'll wait a long time
It will take a while for you to change my feelings
I'm not in love
Once again, I am not in love with you
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Eric Michael Stewart, Graham Keith Gouldman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
polyprinz
I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
I like to see you
But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
It's because...
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love
I'm not in love
Jessica Dawson
I absolutely love this version of this song the best
Jose Manuel Gendra Balsa
Totalmnte d acuerdo......fascinante
The Mighty Mutt
I agree. The other just seems... not exactly bland.. but lacking the energy i guess
Don Miles
@The Mighty MuttI think you said it perfectly! 👌 There is just an 'energy' that makes it easy to just get lost in this version, compared to the other ones!
Luiz De Almeida
Achar essa música de madrugada é simplesmente o êxtase dos Deuses e Deusas..!! Adorei..!! Eu tinha 20 anos, hoje 65..!! Saudades..!! Luiz São Paulo Cap. ✌🎶😃👍📻👏😍👋🎤🎵😁
Nayeli Cruz Salas
La original es con 10 cc
Clayton Ferreira
🎵 1990 - Música boa sempre será eterna. Belíssima regravação do grupo - Will To Power.😉✌🇧🇷
larissa senna
Melhor que a original.
Jose Maria Molina Velez
The original....is the best
Jose Maria Molina Velez
10 cc