"(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" is a song by American R&B group

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American R&B/Soul band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'Wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Char ...

. It was released by Mercury and Polygram Records on January 11, 1994, as the third single from their 1993 album '' Sons of Soul''. The midtempo love ballad was written and produced by the group and recorded at Paradise Recording Studio in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" charted at number 31 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number four on the

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

. It was promoted with a music video wherein the group appeared nude; they conceived it as their response to criticism of male artists for sexually objectifying women in

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Music and lyrics

Tony! Toni! Toné! recorded the song for their third album '' Sons of Soul'', which was recorded and released in 1993. The song was produced and written by the group—drummer Timothy Christian Riley, guitarist D'wayne Wiggins, and bassist Raphael Wiggins. A midtempo love ballad, "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow" features tender, seductive lyrics. The group incorporated

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

-influenced

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

in the song after a country band had used it at Paradise Recording Studio, where they recorded the song. Gil Griffin of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' writes that the song is informed by "the sensual moods of

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

Critical reception

Upon the release,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine complimented it as "a swaying pop/R&B love song that solidifies act's fine reputation for crafting deliciously retro material and bringing it home with engaging vocals that exhibit above-average range and style."

Music video

A music video for the song was released in February 1994. It featured the group members, along with several supporting actors, appearing nude. Members of the video crew were reported to have "giggled a lot" during the 14-hour shoot. It was reshot after BET, MTV, and other cable outlets requested them to minimize the nudity for airplay. D'wayne Wiggins explained the concept as their response to criticism of male artists for sexually objectifying women in

, calling their video "sort of a role-reversal thing". He said in an interview for ''

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'' that he received the most "giggles ... because I went first, which I had to do because I was the one leading everybody on to do it nude. It's not like it's nudity just for nudity's sake, but we didn't want to do another la-de-da video. It's like 14 or 15 people are together in a room and different people are shown without clothes at different times."

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the single's

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

pressing (

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

#858260-7). *

Gerry Brown Gerald E. "The Gov" Brown (also known as Gerry Brown; born 1958) is a recording engineer, mixer and music producer based in Los Angeles, best known for his work with artists including Whitney Houston, John Legend, Earth, Wind & Fire, Madonna, ...

– mixing * Ed Eckstine – executive producer * Timothy Christian Riley – composer, drummer *

– producer * D'wayne Wiggins – composer, guitarist * Raphael Wiggins – bassist, composer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lay Your Head on My Pillow 1994 singles Songs written by Raphael Saadiq Tony! Toni! Toné! songs 1993 songs Songs written by D'wayne Wiggins Mercury Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads 1990s ballads