"How Come, How Long" | |||||
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Single by Babyface featuring Stevie Wonder | |||||
from the album The Day | |||||
Released | 7 July 1997 | ||||
Format | CD single, promo single, airplay, maxi single | ||||
Recorded | 1996 | ||||
Genre | Pop, R&B, soul, soft rock | ||||
Length | 5:10 | ||||
Label | Epic, Sony | ||||
Writer(s) | Babyface, Stevie Wonder | ||||
Producer(s) |
Babyface |
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Babyface chronology | |||||
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Music sample | |||||
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Babyface
"How Come, How Long" is a song written, produced and performed by Babyface (Kenneth Edmonds). It was released as the third single from his album The Day. It is a duet with American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder.
The lyrics deal with physical abuse, regarding a woman killed by her husband after tremendous physical abuse. This release met with mixed reaction by critics and did not chart on any major charts in United States, finding a better chart performance in United Kingdom, where it became a top ten hit for the performers. This song was nominated twice for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
The track was written, produced and performed by Babyface as a duet with American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, who also co-wrote the song. The lyrics deal with domestic violence and is inspired by the Nicole Brown Simpson case. On the Entertainment Weekly review of The Day, David Browne wrote that this "domestic-abuse saga" needed "tougher music to make its point." At the 40th Grammy Awards this song received a nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, which it lost to "Don't Look Back" by John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison. The following year, the song received the same nomination with the live version included on Babyface's Unplugged album, losing this time to Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach with their rendition of "I Still Have That Other Girl".