"Red Light Special" is a song by American vocal

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

for their second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

CrazySexyCool ''CrazySexyCool'' is the second studio album by American girl group TLC, released on November 15, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. Following the group's record deal, they released their debut album '' Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip'' in 1992 t ...

'' (1994). Written and produced by Babyface.

LaFace LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

and

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

released the song as the second single from the album on February 17, 1995. The song achieved chart success, reaching number one 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 ...

'' Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart and number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his career with the revival an ...

filmed its music video, which features the group performing in a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' felt the song "lives up to its name as one of the sultriest, sexiest singles to come along in years. Slow and entrancing, “Red Light Special” has definitely got the groove going on. A smash." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' remarked that in numerous markets, this has been in heavy rotation for weeks. He also viewed it as "another example of why Babyface is the hottest writer/producer in the business. Flawless." Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote that here, TLC "turn on the sweetness in inverse proportion to the raunchiness of the tune", adding that the song "which uses old blues imagery to express steamy lust, is superficially one of the prettiest numbers

n the album N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

" Dennis Hunt from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' named it a "strong tune" from the ''CrazySexyCool'' album, and a "steamy Babyface production". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

found that here, TLC are "slipping into a distinctly American summer groove to make what is arguably one of their best records ever and surpasses at a stroke the No.22 peak of " Creep" back in January."

Simon Price Simon Price (born 25 September 1967) is a British music journalist and author. He is known for his weekly review section in ''The Independent on Sunday'' and his books ''Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers)'' and ''Curepedia: An ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' named "Red Light Special" "the finest shag song since...well, I can't remember. It's been a long time." Ralph Tee from ''

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 ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update stated, "The follow-up to 'Creep' is this beat

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

from the album. The pace of this genre of music is getting so slow now that if it's not careful it'll soon grind to a halt. Gerald Hall provides a mix that beefs up the rhythms a little to generate marginal dancefloor potential but the tune still needs a few rewinds to get into it."

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal life Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia ...

from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' commented, "Sexy, sexier, sexiest. If you liked 'em better when they were more like cartoons, you should wise up."

Music video

Shot in December 1994, the accompanying music video for "Red Light Special" was directed by

and is set in a

. Male actors portray

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

and Left Eye plays a

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

while Chilli and

T-Boz Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), also known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer. Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC. Early life ...

portray customers playing

strip poker Strip games or stripping games are games which have clothing removal as a gameplay element or mechanic. Classification There are two broad categories of these games: the first are sexualized, and getting other people to remove their clothes ...

. A young

Boris Kodjoe Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe (; born March 8, 1973) is a German actor and former model, based in the United States. His breakthrough role was as sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series '' Soul Food'' (2000- ...

is featured as one of the male prostitutes. T-Boz is seen being caressed by a man in a room. Chilli is seen dancing with the guitar player. There are also black and white solo shots of the girls singing. The music video has three versions: one labelled "Sexy", the second "Sexier" and the final version "Sexiest". As a result of more sexually suggestive and racy footage being used in versions two and three, the first version is widely broadcast.

B-side: "My Secret Enemy"

The "Red Light Special" single contains the B-side "My Secret Enemy", a rap track led by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who wrote the track alongside Steve Keitt and R.A.S. Posse. Its lyrical content focuses on Lopes's coverage in the media and her relationship with

Andre Rison Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Gree ...

. Lopes went on to say that the song came out directly after the incident that saw her accidentally set fire to Rison's Atlanta mansion. "It happened right after that incident and I was feeling like I needed a way out," said Lopes of the track.

Track listings

* US 7-inch and cassette single :A. "Red Light Special" – 5:02 :B. "Red Light Special" (instrumental) – 5:02 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Red Light Special" ( L.A.'s Flava mix extended version) – 6:02 :A2. "Red Light Special" (album version) – 5:02 :A3. "Red Light Special" (Gerald Hall's remix) – 5:09 :B1. "Red Light Special" (acapella version) – 5:40 :B2. "Red Light Special" (instrumental) – 5:02 :B3. "My Secret Enemy" – 5:34 * US and Australian CD single # "Red Light Special" (radio edit) – 4:40 # "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix) – 4:28 # "Red Light Special" (album version) – 5:02 # "Red Light Special" (Gerald's Hall remix) – 5:09 # "My Secret Enemy" – 5:34 * US maxi-cassette single # "Red Light Special" (radio edit) # "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix) # "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix extended version) # "Red Light Special" (Gerald Hall's remix) # "My Secret Enemy" * UK CD single # "Red Light Special" (radio edit) – 4:40 # "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix) – 4:28 # "Red Light Special" (Gerald's Hall remix) – 5:09 # "My Secret Enemy" – 5:34 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix extended version) – 6:02 :A2. "Red Light Special" (album version) – 5:02 :A3. "Red Light Special" (Gerald's Hall remix) – 5:09 :B1. "Red Light Special" (acapella) – 5:40 :B2. "Red Light Special" (instrumental) – 5:02 * UK cassette single and European CD single # "Red Light Special" (radio edit) – 4:40 # "My Secret Enemy" – 5:34 * Japanese CD single # "Red Light Special" (radio edit) # "Red Light Special" (L.A.'s Flava mix) # " Creep" ( Jermaine's Jeep mix) # "My Secret Enemy"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1994 songs 1995 singles 1990s ballads TLC (group) songs Arista Records singles LaFace Records singles Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Songs written by Babyface (musician) Sentimental ballads