Rub You the Right Way

"Rub You the Right Way" is a song by American singer Johnny Gill, issued as the first single from his self-titled third album in March 1990. The single was written and produced by James Harris III & Terry Lewis. A remixed version of the song exists with a rap verse from CL Smooth.

"Rub You the Right Way"
Single by Johnny Gill
from the album Johnny Gill
Released	March 28, 1990 (1990-03-28)[1]
Studio	Flyte Tyme (Edina, Minnesota)
Genre	New jack swing[2]
Length	5:31 (album version) 4:07 (single version)
Label	Motown
Songwriter(s)	James Harris III & Terry Lewis
Producer(s)	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (album version) DJ Eddie F Dave "Jam" Hall Pete Rock (remix)
Johnny Gill singles chronology
"Where Do We Go From Here" (1989) "Rub You the Right Way" (1990) "My, My, My" (1990)

Composition

According to Billboard, the song is about sex, more specifically a "man who offers to use his hands wisely during a night of lovin'."^[3]

Chart performance

"Rub You the Right Way" spent one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[4][5] The single also peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart.^[6]

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 59 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 27 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[9] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 26 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 27 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 41 UK Singles (OCC)[13] 77 US Billboard Hot 100[5] 3 US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[14] 6 US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[6] 16 US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)[4] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position US Billboard Hot 100[15] 23 US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard)[16] 40 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[17] 17

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[1]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)