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Anniversary (song)

"Anniversary"
Tony Toni Tone - Anniversary.jpg
Single by Tony! Toni! Toné!
from the album Sons of Soul
Released September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14)
Format Cassette,7-inch
Recorded 1993
Genre R&B
Length 3:57 (radio edit)
9:27 (album version)
Label Mercury, Polygram
Writer(s) Carl Wheeler, Raphael Wiggins
Producer(s) Tony! Toni! Toné!
Tony! Toni! Toné! singles chronology
"If I Had No Loot"
(1993)
"Anniversary"
(1993)
"(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow"
(1994)

"Anniversary" is a song by American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on September 14, 1993, as the second single from their studio album Sons of Soul (1993). The song was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné! and written by group member Raphael Wiggins and keyboardist Carl Wheeler. The bolero-like slow jam features lush strings and moody violin, and is about a mature, lasting love, with lyrics that bestow warmth and respect upon a female subject.

The song became a hit for Tony! Toni! Toné!, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number two on the Hot R&B Singles chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. "Anniversary" was well received by music critics, including Robert Christgau, who named it the 13th best song of 1993. It earned the group Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1994.

"Anniversary" was recorded for the group's third album Sons of Soul, which was recorded and released in 1993. It was produced by Tony! Toni! Toné! and written by group member Raphael Wiggins and keyboardist Carl Wheeler.

The song is a romantic, elegant slow jam, with lush strings, lavish vocal harmonies, moody violin, and a long instrumental break. Musically, the group wanted to create a feeling similar to Isaac Hayes' 1969 song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix". Its lyrics are about mature, lasting love: "I've only made plans to hold your little hand/ It's our anniversary." Molly Reed of The Times-Picayune views that the lyrics' "pure sentiment" evokes "the 'sugar pie, honey bun' days of Motown soul", citing the line "I've only made plans / to hold your little hand / It's our anniversary".


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