"Remember Me" is a 1996 song by British DJ Alexis 'Lex' Blackmore under his pseudonym Blue Boy, first released by Guidance Recordings, Chicago, titled 'Scattered Emotions'. In 1997 the track was rereleased under the title's name on 12", including the original and remixed versions. Built around samples performed by American singer

Marlena Shaw Marlina Burgess (September 22, 1939 – January 19, 2024), professionally known by her stage name Marlena Shaw, was an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and continued to perform until her death. Her music has often been ...

, the song peaked at 8 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997 and No. 2 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. It was a top-10 hit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, the track reached No. 13.

Background

The track originally appeared on

Mark Farina Mark Farina is an American disc jockey and musician, known for his Chicago house, acid jazz and downtempo works. His notable releases include ''Mood'' (KMS Records, 1989) and the ''Mushroom Jazz'' series (Om Records, 1996–2011). He is primari ...

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson ('' Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

Mushroom Jazz ''Mushroom Jazz'' is a series of musical compilations by DJ Mark Farina. Originating in 1992 these were released on cassette tape, then since 1996 have been commercial CD and vinyl releases. Farina combines elements of downtempo, hip hop, jazz and ...

Volume One''.

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

acquired it and earmarked it for single release. The radio edit was remixed by Sure Is Pure, who were also responsible for a couple of top 20 remixes of

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge was an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. I ...

songs in 1993, released on the duo's Pharm

sublabel "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

imprint. "Remember Me" is built around samples from " Woman of the Ghetto" by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

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 ...

singer

: "Remember me? I'm the one who had your babies", in reference to African-American maids raising white children for little pay, came from a live version, whereas the "ging, gi-gi-gi-gi-ging..." sample repeated throughout the song is the

scat Scat or SCAT may refer to: Education * School and College Ability Test also known as SCAT * Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology was previously referred to as SCAT * Somerset College of Arts and Technology is referred to as SCAT Games * Skat ...

portion of the original song's refrain. Shaw had the following to say about it:

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 ''

'' described the song as a "wickedly catchy

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

anthem", noting further that "while the groove is appropriately aggressive and street-credible, the song is iced with accessible keyboards, and a loopy hook takes up permanent residence in the brain upon impact." Australian music channel

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

included "Remember Me" in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012. In 1996, Andy Beevers 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 wrote that it is "wooing the

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

crowd", placing a

classic "over a very basic but very bouncy funk rhythm. It's blindingly simple, dead cheeky and undeniably effective". Later, in 1997, another editor

James Hyman James Hyman (born 1970) is a British radio and television presenter, music supervisor, DJ and the owner and founder of HYMAG. Hyman studied Film & Media at London Guildhall University (1989-1992, BA Hons, 1st), whilst working at MTV Europe d ...

rated it five out of five, calling it a "ridiculously simple and thus ultra-catchy

er". He added that the samples "and the subsequent 'Remember me, I'm the one who had your babies' hook added to a sparse

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

break and a gently throbbing bassline not only recalls another classic—the

Young Disciples Young Disciples was a British- American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson (vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming). Their most notable hit was the ...

' ' Apparently Nothin'—but commands an instant top 10 chart placing."

Chart performance

"Remember Me" was very successful on the charts all over the world. In Europe, it was a top 10 hit in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. In the latter, the single peaked at number eight in its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 9 February 1997. It also reached the top spot on both the UK Dance and UK R&B singles charts. Additionally, "Remember Me" was a top 20 hit in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as on the

, where it peaked at No. 13 in June 1997. Outside Europe, it reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US, number six on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Dance/Urban chart in Canada and No. 17 in Australia. The single was awarded with a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in Australia and the UK, with a sale of 35,000 and 400,000 units.

Track listings

*UK CD single #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7-inch edit) #"Remember Me" (original 12-inch) #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12-inch remix) #"Remember Me" (Cavern 3 remix) #"Remember Me" (

Rae and Christian Rae & Christian are an English production duo, consisting of Mark Rae and Steve Christian. They are also founders of the Grand Central Records label. History In 1995, Mark Rae fulfilled a long-term dream by founding Grand Central Records in Ma ...

remix) *UK 12-inch single :A1. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7-inch edit) :A2. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12-inch remix) :B1. "Remember Me" (original 12-inch) :B2. "Remember Me" (Rae and Christian remix) *UK cassette single #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7-inch edit) #"Remember Me" (original 12-inch) *European maxi-CD single #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7-inch edit) #"Remember Me" (original 7-inch edit) #"Remember Me" (Deep Zone club mix) #"Remember Me" (Dub Zone) #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12-inch remix) #"Remember Me" (original 12-inch) #"Remember Me" (Sub dub) *European 12-inch single :A1. "Remember Me" (Deep Zone club mix) :A2. "Remember Me" (Dub Zone) :B1. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 12-inch remix) :B2. "Remember Me" (original 12-inch) *US CD single #"Remember Me" (radio edit) #"Remember Me" (12-inch remix) #"Remember Me" (original mix) *US maxi-CD single #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure radio edit) – 3:49 #"Remember Me" (Deep Zone club mix) – 7:27 #"Remember Me" (Mad House vocal mix) – 3:51 #"Remember Me" (original 12-inch) – 7:02 #"Remember Me" (Da Ill Flip remix) – 6:47 #''Mushroom Jazz'' sampler – 5:05 *US 12-inch single :A1. "Remember Me" (Deep Zone club mix) :A2. "Remember Me" (Sub dub) :B1. "Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure 7-inch) :B2. "Remember Me" (Pimplab mix) :B3. "Remember Me" (Da Ill Flip mix) *Australian and New Zealand CD single #"Remember Me" (original edit) – 3:59 #"Remember Me" (original 12-inch) – 7:04 #"Remember Me" (Mad House vocal mix) – 5:11 #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure mix 1) – 10:46 #"Remember Me" (Sure Is Pure mix 2) – 10:26 #"Remember Me" (Marc Rae mix) – 6:56

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions and sampling

In late 2008, the Australian psychedelic rock band

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

started performing this song as part of their live sets, eventually recording a cover version of it as a B-side to the " Sundown Syndrome" single. This cover became quite popular in Australia, reaching No. 78 on the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2009 The 2009 Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 17, was announced on January 26, 2010. It is the seventeenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced on Boxing ...

. In November 2012, British musician

Daley Daley, originally an Irish family name derived from the Gaelic Ó Dálaigh, as a surname, may refer to: People Given name * Daley Blind (born 1990), Dutch footballer * Daley Mena (born 1985), Colombian footballer * Daley Ojuederie (born 1985), p ...

sampled this song for his own composition " Remember Me", with the refrain sung by

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind ...

. In 2013, South African group

Goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...

sampled the song for their track "Three Second Memory". TheSouthAfrican.com said of the song: "Where to start? Obviously the title track, which takes the vocal sample "Remember Me" and builds around it to a level which justifies its standing as the basis of the album." In 2024, Puma sampled the song for its "FOREVER. FASTER" world-wide campaign (the first in 10 years for the German company).

References

{{Reflist 1997 songs 1997 singles British dance songs British funk songs Jive Records singles Om Records singles