French Kiss (Lil Louis song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"French Kiss" (1989) became a UK hit for American artist Lil Louis. It peaked at #2 on the UK singles chart. It remains his only hit single.
The house music track (now considered a classic) features a several-minutes-long breakdown in which the music gradually slowed down in tempo to a complete stop and left nothing but orgasmic moaning from Ms. Christopher. Even with its sensual sound, it crossed over to some dance-leaning pop radio stations and climbed to #50 on the Hot 100. It was a big success throughout Europe reaching # 2 in the UK and in Germany for example.
Structure and usage
Distinctions of this song are that it is based on a single note (F-natural) and that it gradually slows down to a complete stop, marked by the vocal climax, and then, again gradually, speeds up. This was an innovative feature for any dance track at that time. Note that the track includes a more erotic vocal performance than the title implies.
Slant Magazine ranked the song 7th in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs list, adding: “‘French Kiss’ is a moaning, sex-as-house track that audaciously and amazingly slows down and then stops altogether. It builds again, chugging back to its initial speed until it fades brighter than ever in post-orgasmic glow.”
It was sampled heavily on Josh Wink's single “How's Your Evening So Far?”—credited to Wink vs. Lil Louis. It was also sampled on The Wiseguys’ song "Au-Pair Girls," from 1998. In 1990, the French TV presenter Lagaf' used the sample of the song in a parodic version under the name "Bo le lavabo (WC Kiss)." The American 12-inch single was never released on compact disc.
The song was also sampled on a remix of The Loco-Motion for Kylie Minogue's Enjoy Yourself 1990 Tour titled "The Oz Tour Mix," which remained unreleased in studio form for many years until it was finally released on the bonus disc of remixes of the 2002 Greatest Hits ’87–’92.
The track was also featured on the 1999 Carl Cox DJ album "Non-stop 2000"—CD 1, starting roughly midway through track 06, "Funk on the Roll." Carl seamlessly mixes it in the background continuously, through the whole of the next track, "Let it roll," before it plays in its entire original form as track 08.
The song was also sampled in "Custom Made (Give it to You)" by Lil' Kim, which appeared on her album The Notorious K.I.M..
See also
