Who sang The Game of Love

"The Game of Love"
Single by Santana featuring Michelle Branch
from the album Shaman and Hotel Paper (international version)
B-side	"Come to My World" "Curacion" Índice Show Background[edit] Chart performance[edit] Music video[edit] Track listings[edit] Credits and personnel[edit] Charts[edit] Release history[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Who first recorded The Game of Love? Who wrote Game of Love by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders? What was Michelle Branch's biggest hit? When did The Game of Love come out?
Released	September 23, 2002
Length	4:18
Label	Arista BMG
Songwriter(s)	Alex Ander Rick Nowels
Producer(s)	Alex Ander Rick Nowels Carlos Santana (album) Clive Davis (album)
Santana singles chronology
"Primavera" (2001) "The Game of Love" (2002) "Nothing at All" (2003)
Michelle Branch singles chronology
"Goodbye to You" (2002) "The Game of Love" (2002) "Are You Happy Now?" (2003)

"The Game of Love" is a song by American rock band Santana from their 18th studio album, Shaman (2002). The vocal performance on the song is by Michelle Branch. It was composed by Gregg Alexander (as Alex Ander) and Rick Nowels. The song was released as a single on September 23, 2002, and won a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals",[1] as well as peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song also reached the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, and six European countries.

Background[edit]

The song had originally been recorded with New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander, but album producer Clive Davis felt a female voice would maximize the song's appeal and a recording of Santana performing "The Game of Love" with Tina Turner as vocalist was completed. When Turner declined to participate in making a video for the track, Davis recruited Macy Gray to record a replacement vocal. When Davis was not satisfied with that version, Michelle Branch was asked to record the song,[2][better source needed] with Branch's rhythm guitar playing also added to the track. Branch said, "It was the first time for me to sing somebody else's song. Usually I'm like: 'Oh I want it this way' and I'm in charge...I didn't meet [Carlos Santana at the recording session], I didn't know what was going on...It felt to me like wow it seems like there's so much at stake, I'm going to go in there and just sing my heart out and just cross my fingers."[3]

The Tina Turner version of "The Game of Love" was issued on the 2007 retrospective Ultimate Santana. Santana said "There's only one Tina Turner...No one can hit a note like Tina Turner...I love Michelle [Branch] and she did a great interpretation of it. It's just that with all honor and respect to Michelle, there's the girl and there's the woman, and Michelle is unfolding into a woman...but it takes time to go from a girl into a woman."[4][full citation needed]

Chart performance[edit]

"The Game of Love" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending November 30, 2002. The song stayed on the charts for 37 weeks. The song became Branch's second top-10 hit, as well as her first-highest-peaking single, after "All You Wanted" and " Everywhere".[5]

Music video[edit]

The music video depicts Santana and Branch in an alley with couples around them, each expressing their love for one another. The director was Paul Fedor and the video was filmed in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, with cameo appearances by Wesley Snipes, Helen Hunt and Jennifer Garner.

Track listings[edit]

US CD single[6]

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "The Game of Love" (instrumental) – 4:18

European CD and cassette single[7][8]

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "Come to My World" – 4:11

European and Australian enhanced CD single[9]

1. "The Game of Love" (radio mix) – 4:18
2. "Come to My World" – 4:11
3. "Curacion" – 4:47
4. "The Game of Love" (video)

Credits and personnel[edit]

Credits are taken from the European CD single liner notes.[7]

Studio

• Mixed at Larrabee North Studios (North Hollywood, California, US)
• Engineered at the Big Space (Santa Monica, California, US) and Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California, US)

Personnel

• Alex Ander – writing, production
• Rick Nowels – writing, background vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, production
• Carlos Santana – lead guitar, horn arrangements, album production
• Michelle Branch – lead vocals, background vocals
• Andy Vargas – additional vocals
• Tony Lindsay – additional vocals
• Niki Haris – background vocals
• Siedah Garrett – background vocals
• Rusty Anderson – additional electric guitar
• Chester Thompson – piano, organ
• Benny Rietveld – bass
• Brian Collier – drums
• Wayne Rodrigues – drum programming
• Raul Rekow – congas
• Karl Perazzo – percussion
• Louis Conte – additional percussion
• Bill Ortiz – trumpet, horn arrangements
• Julius Melendez – trumpet
• Jeff Cressman – trombone, horn arrangements
• Martin Wehner – trombone
• Ben Conrad – engineering
• Chris Garcia – engineering
• Randy Wine – engineering
• Greg Collins – engineering
• Michael Rosen – engineering
• Scott Holderby – engineering
• Eddie Kramer – engineering
• Tone – engineering
• Kieron Menzies – engineering assistant
• Alan Veucosovic – engineering assistant
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Kirstin Johnson – project coordination for Ander and Nowels
• Robert Cappadona – project coordination for Ander and Nowels
• Clive Davis – album production
• Antonio "LA" Reid – executive production

Charts[edit]

Release history[edit]

See also[edit]

• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2003

References[edit]

1. ^ "2003 Grammy Award Winners". The New York Times. February 25, 2003. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
2. ^ You Sing, I Write: A Night With Clive Davis
3. ^ "Santana, Branch shine". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 20, 2002. p. A2. Retrieved September 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Victoria Advocate August 3, 2007, p. m3
5. ^ a b "Santana Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
6. ^ The Game of Love (US CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records. 2002. 07822-15203-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. ^ a b The Game of Love (European CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 2002. 74321959432.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. ^ The Game of Love (European cassette single sleeve). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 2002. 74321 959444.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. ^ The Game of Love (European & Australian enhanced CD single liner notes). Santana. Arista Records, BMG. 2002. 74321959442.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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25. ^ "t.A.t.U domina" (in Spanish). El Siglo de Torreón. December 16, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
26. ^ "Santana feat. Michelle Branch – The Game of Love". VG-lista. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
27. ^ "t.A.t.U domina" (in Spanish). El Siglo de Torreón. December 16, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
28. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 49. November 30, 2002. p. 13. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
29. ^ "Arhiva romanian top 100 Editia 4, saptamina 3.02–9.02, 2003" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on December 28, 2004. Retrieved September 29, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
30. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
31. ^ "Santana feat. Michelle Branch – The Game of Love" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
32. ^ "Santana feat. Michelle Branch – The Game of Love". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
33. ^ "Santana feat. Michelle Branch – The Game of Love". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
34. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
35. ^ "Santana Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
36. ^ "Santana Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
37. ^ "Santana Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
38. ^ "Santana Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
39. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002". Jam!. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
40. ^ "Topul anului 2003" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on January 22, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
41. ^ "2003 The Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles & Tracks". Billboard. December 27, 2003. pp. YE-30, YE-32. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
42. ^ "2003 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 52. December 27, 2003. p. YE-80. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
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44. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1471. September 20, 2002. p. 33. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
45. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 11th November 2002" (PDF). ARIA. November 11, 2002. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2003. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
46. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 11 November 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. November 9, 2002. p. 25. Retrieved August 30, 2021.

Who first recorded The Game of Love?

Who wrote Game of Love by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders?

What was Michelle Branch's biggest hit?

When did The Game of Love come out?