"Vitamin L" is a song by the American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band B.E. Taylor Group. It is the fifth track on the band's second studio album, ''

Love Won the Fight ''Love Won the Fight'' was the second album by pop rock band B.E. Taylor Group. It was released on New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, s ...

'', and also the third single pulled from that album. In a departure of the norm of B. E. Taylor singing lead vocals, drummer Joey d'Amico sings lead on this track. It also heavily uses

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s and a brass sections as the main instruments. The

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

's role is minimized to a steady strumming pattern with sustained

power chord A power chord , also called a fifth chord, is a colloquial name for a chord on guitar, especially on electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly pla ...

s in the chorus. The lyrics tell the story of a man whose medical condition can only be treated with an unstable drug, called Vitamin L, that reacts "when boy meets girl". In the last verse, it is revealed the drug was, in fact, love, and the man is cured of his ailment when he falls in love with a woman. This song is the B. E. Taylor Group's most popular song, as it peaked at #66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1984 and stayed on the chart for eight weeks. The song also spawned a popular music video that scored heavy airplay on MTV. B. E. and Rick Witkowsi are featured as the

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and

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in the video, respectively. The song also is a near constant at live performances. B. E. Taylor later re-recorded this song on his first solo album, '' Try Love'', as more of a rock song, getting rid of the synthesizers and making the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, lead guitar, and drums much more involved. The lyrics in the verses have entire lines changed as well, mildly changing the story in the process, e.g. "A chemical reaction occurs/Every time that boys meets girl" to "It could keep us all in touch/But we can never take too much", erasing the idea that the vitamin is an unstable drug. Three whole lines in the third verse are changed, but these do not change the story in any way.

Track listing

# A. "Vitamin L" (Club Version) (4:46) # B. "Vitamin L" (LP Version) (5:29)

References

{{Reflist 1983 singles 1983 songs MCA Records singles