Oh Baby I...

For other uses, see Oh Baby.

"Oh Baby I..." is a song by English girl group Eternal, written by Lotti Golden and Tommy Faragher. It was the fifth single released from their debut album, Always & Forever (1993), in October 1994 by EMI and First Avenue Records. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number seven on October 30th, climbing to its peak of number four a week later. The single spent 10 weeks in the top 40, which up to this point was their longest chart run, and was certified Silver by the BPI on 1 January 1995 for shipments over 200,000. The song also reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and narrowly missed the top 10 in Ireland and New Zealand, charting at number 11 in both countries. The accompanying music video was directed by Tim Royes and filmed in London.

"Oh Baby I..."
Single by Eternal
from the album Always & Forever
B-side	"Sweet Funky Thing" "Decisions"
Released	24 October 1994 (1994-10-24)[1]
Studio	Mad Fly Productions (New York City)
Genre	Pop-R&B[2] soul[3]
Length	4:32
Label	EMI 1st Avenue
Songwriter(s)	Tommy Faragher Lotti Golden
Producer(s)	Tommy Faragher Lotti Golden
Eternal singles chronology
"So Good" (1994) "Oh Baby I..." (1994) "Crazy" (1994)

Critical reception

Jon O'Brien from AllMusic viewed the song as an example of "perfect R&B-infused pop".^[2] Annette M. Lai from the Gavin Report described it as "touching".^[4] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Now with their fifth single they move away from the dancefloor and into ballad territory".^[5] Alan Jones from Music Week gave "Oh Baby I..." a score of four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, declaring it as "a sophisticated and pretty ballad that proves they have the vocal ability to hold their own against Jade and SWV. A nicely restrained production that should have no trouble in maintaining their hot streak, while luring new fans to the Always & Forever album."^[6] Jordan Paramor from Smash Hits also gave it four out of five, writing, "'Oh Baby I...' is very much in the Eternal style, laid-back and souly. It's got the harmonies, it's got style and it's got the potential to be a big hit."^[3] Another Smash Hits editor, Mark Frith, complimented it as a "lush ballad".^[7]

Music video

The music video for "Oh Baby I..." was directed by British director and editor Tim Royes of The A+R Group and filmed on location in London for EMI.^[8][9] Greg Copeland directed photography on the shoot and Lizzie Ross produced the video. It features the group members performing by running water, behind or under a thin veil and sitting on the top of a mountain. In between, bare-chested male models appears.

Track listings

UK 7-inch and cassette single[10][11] "Oh Baby I..." (Nigel Lowis remix) "Sweet Funky Thing" (New York City radio mix) "Oh Baby I..." (original mix) UK and Australian CD single[12] "Oh Baby I..." (Nigel Lowis remix) "Sweet Funky Thing" (Puff the Blunted Dragon mix) "Sweet Funky Thing" (K & T Atlanta remix) "Decisions"

European maxi-CD single[13] "Oh Baby I..." (Nigel Lowis remix) "(Something Inside) So Strong" "Sweet Funky Thing" (West End Master mix) "Sweet Funky Thing" (K & T Southern remix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Always & Forever album booklet.^[14]

Studios

• Recorded at Mad Fly Productions (New York City)
• Mixed at Platinum Island (New York City)

Personnel

• Tommy Faragher – writing, keyboards, drums, production, mixing, engineering
• Lotti Golden – writing, production, mixing
• Paul Pesco – guitar, sitar
• Bashiri Johnson – percussion
• David Sussman – mix engineering, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994–1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 102 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 31 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 20 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[18] 39 Ireland (IRMA)[19] 11 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 9 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 11 Scotland (OCC)[23] 9 UK Singles (OCC)[24] 4 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[25] 1 UK Airplay (Music Week)[26] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position UK Singles (OCC)[27] 55

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[1]	Silver	200,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.