If Only You Knew Lyrics

"If Only You Knew" was recorded in July 1981 at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios and written and composed by Dexter Wansel and Cynthia Biggs with Wansel as its producer. It was released two years later in October 1983 as the first song off LaBelle's 1983 release, I'm in Love Again. Wansel featured drums, bass, rhythm guitar and strings, which was arranged by longtime PIR arranger, John R. Faith. LaBelle recorded a dozen songs that didn't make the final track listing of The Spirit's In It. Among those songs was a mid-tempo Pop ballad titled "If Only You Knew". Dexter Wansel and co-writer Cynthia Biggs had written lyrics and composition to a song about a woman who was seeking an unsuspecting love interest. During initial recording sessions, LaBelle and Wansel argued over the direction of how to approach the song. While LaBelle had wanted to sing it in a straightforward approach, Wansel wanted the singer to deliver it mid-range and also produce a smile as she sang the verses because "her vocals were clearer when she smiled". LaBelle agreed to a compromise to have her sing the verses in a softer tone while delivering the final chorus with a louder vocal range of her soprano vocals. The song sat on a shelf for two years and after seeking archival songs to fit the track listing of the singer's upcoming sophomore PIR album, I'm In Love Again, Gamble & Huff chose this particular ballad as part of the album. The song was titled "If Only You Knew" after Gamble settled a dispute between the musical composer Wansel and lyricist Biggs over a lyric line. The song had a slow climb to the top of the R&B charts after its debut in October 1983, reaching the top 10 by December of the year and peaking at number-one in January 1984, staying at the top spot of Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart for four weeks. LaBelle wrote in her memoirs, Don't Block the Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime, that she got so excited hearing the news of the song reaching number-one on the R&B charts that she jumped on the top of her bed in celebration. The song eventually crossed over to pop radio becoming a moderate success reaching number forty-six on the Billboard Hot 100, marking LaBelle's first-ever entry on the Hot 100 as a solo artist, six and a half years after going solo. It was also LaBelle's first ever solo single to hit number-one on the R&B chart. Prior to its release, LaBelle's biggest charted song was the Grover Washington ballad, "The Best Is Yet to Come", which reached number fourteen on the R&B chart in early 1983, resulting in the singer's first Grammy nomination.