"Beautiful People" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Barbara Tucker Barbara Tucker (born March 19, 1967), is an American house and soul singer, songwriter and choreographer born in Brooklyn, New York, US. Tucker had six No. 1 hits on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the 1990s and into the 2000s, and severa ...

, who co-wrote it with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Lem Springsteen and "Little" Louie Vega, who along with partner Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, co-produced the track. It was released on March 2, 1994, as her first single by Strictly Rhythm Records, and was also Tucker's first of seven number-one singles on the US ''

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 ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, reaching the top spot on April 16, 1994. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 23, while it topped both the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' Dance Singles chart and the UK Club Chart. ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' featured "Beautiful People" in their list of "The 30 Best Vocal House Anthems Ever" in 2018, and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' featured it in their list of "The 30 Best House Tracks of the '90s" in 2022.

Background and release

Barbara Tucker grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York and started singing through her entertainer father, Jayotis Washington of the Persuasions. She also choreographed and danced for various dance artists, such as C&C Music Factory, Soul System and

Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American House music, house and Dance music, dance music group formed in New York City. The group's Single (music), single "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album, ''World Clique'' (19 ...

. In 1992, at The Underground Network, Tucker was introduced to American DJ and record producer "Little" Louie Vega. They started working together, and he told her that he had a song for her, written by his wife

and Lem Springsteen. Tucker wrote some lyrics to it and Vega created a dub for the track, using the ''deep inside'' chorus and looping it. "Beautiful People" was released on 2 March 1994 by Strictly Rhythm Records. Tucker told in an 2024 interview about the song, "We can sing about 'Beautiful People', and we can say that, you know what your mom said it's going to be like but, how do you become a beautiful people? Where do you find the beauty? ''Deep inside, deep deep down inside. All we need is love.'' So it starts with love within. And when I ad lib, I'm just like, who is it? Where is it? Red people, black people, white people, gay people. Deep inside, all we need is love." After it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23 on 27 February 1994, Tucker performed the song on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' with her dancers wearing masks.

Critical reception

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 ''

'' felt the song had Tucker "flexing her

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

-honed voice to maximum effect. Factor in crafty production by "Little" Louie Vega that carefully balanced assertive beats with a wicked

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, and you had an unstoppable star vehicle." He also named it an "instantly memorable

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

anthem". British electronic dance and clubbing magazine ''

'' praised it as "a wonderfully crafted track. The fleet-fingered organ line and snares that hit like hand claps give it a rapturous gospel feel, packing the production full of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

. And Barabara Tucker takes this feeling to another level with her peerless vocal turn. She's one of the most deified voices in house music and 'Beautiful People' is a shining example as to why." Maria Jimenez from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' described it as "seriously smooth" and "a delicious garagey house number with a massaging bass, smooth rhythm and on target vocals." Andy Beevers from ''

'' gave it a top score of five out of five and named it a "superb New York garage track". He noted that it's "currently one of the biggest club tunes around" and stated that the singer "really does justice to the excellent uplifting lyrics."

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update described it as a "superb breezily attractive gospel-ish romper" in his weekly dance column.

Impact and legacy

British clubbing magazine ''

'' ranked "Beautiful People" as one of "The 30 Best Vocal House Anthems Ever" in 2018. In 2022, ''

'' featured it in their list of "The 30 Best House Tracks of the '90s", writing that "Tucker's sassy, yearning delivery rides a wave of jazzy chord changes, exquisite high notes, and back-to-church organs. She's got one of the most recognizable voices in house music: Its soulful tones, immaculate control, and a hint of unspecified naughtiness are enough to draw the most introverted wallflower onto the floor."

Track listing

* CD maxi (US)Single release information
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

#"Beautiful People" (Radio Edit) – 4:06 #"Beautiful People" (Underground Network Mix) – 9:08 #"Beautiful People" (Beautiful Reprise) – 5:41 #"Beautiful People" (CJ's Club Mix) – 7:38 #"Beautiful People" (CJ's Dub) – 8:08 #"Beautiful People" (Original Club Mix) – 9:28 #"Beautiful People" (CJ's Instrumental) – 8:08 #"Beautiful People" (Mood II Swing Dub) – 5:26

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Official video
on YouTube {{authority control 1994 songs 1994 debut singles Barbara Tucker songs American house music songs House music songs Music Week number-one dance singles Positiva Records singles Strictly Rhythm singles