1984 · Behind the Songs
The fifth single from Can’t Slow Down, written with his then-wife.
“Penny Lover” was the fifth and final single from Can’t Slow Down, released in September 1984 with “Tell Me” on the B-side. Richie wrote it with his then-wife, Brenda Harvey Richie, and produced it with James Anthony Carmichael. Billboard’s 1984 review called it “another of his unfailingly effective universal-appeal ballads.” Bob Giraldi directed the video — he had also directed the videos for “Running with the Night” and “Hello.”
It spent two weeks at No. 8 on the Hot 100 in December 1984, reached No. 8 on the R&B chart, spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and made No. 18 in the UK and No. 12 on Canada’s RPM chart. The single edit ran nearly two minutes shorter than the album version, with added reverb, more prominent backing vocals, and a cold ending of just voice and keyboards; the 12-inch added “You Are” and “My Love.” Sly and Robbie covered it in a reggae style in 1997 with Ambelique, reaching No. 94 in the UK.