When Will I See You Again - Wikipedia

1974 single by the Three Degrees Not to be confused with When Can I See You or When Can I See You Again?. For other uses, see When Will I See You Again (disambiguation).

"When Will I See You Again"
Single by the Three Degrees
from the album The Three Degrees
B-side	"I Didn't Know"
Released	June 21, 1974 (UK) September 6, 1974 (U.S.)
Recorded	1973
Genre	Philadelphia soul[1]
Length	3:00
Label	Philadelphia International
Songwriter	Gamble and Huff
Producers	Gamble and Huff
The Three Degrees singles chronology
"Love Is the Message" (1974) "When Will I See You Again" (1974) "Get Your Love Back" (1974)

"When Will I See You Again" is a song released in 1974 by American soul group the Three Degrees from their third album, The Three Degrees. The song was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Sheila Ferguson sang the lead, accompanied by Fayette Pinkney and Valerie Holiday. Billboard named the song number 67 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[2]

Background

[edit]

Sheila Ferguson recalled that "the song was played to me by Kenny Gamble at the piano in 1973 and I threw a tantrum. I screamed and yelled and said I would never sing it. I thought it was ridiculously insulting to be given such a simple song and that it took no talent to sing it. We did do it and several million copies later, I realized that he knew more than me."[3] She would later have a number-60 hit with a solo remake of the track in 1994.[4] The song is unique in that every sentence is a question, heightening the overall effect and emotion.

The Three Degrees performed the song at Charles III's 30th birthday party at Buckingham Palace in 1978 (when he was known as Prince Charles) as he had stated that the song was a favourite of his.

Chart performance

[edit]

It was one of the most successful recordings of the "Philly Soul" era. The first station in the United States to broadcast the song was WFIL AM 560 in Philadelphia courtesy of disc jockey George Michael. It would be his last day at WFIL before taking a gig at WABC Radio in New York. In the U.S., "When Will I See You Again" peaked at number 2 on the pop singles chart, behind "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas.[5] The song reached number 1 on the adult contemporary chart,[6] and number 4 on the R&B chart in the US in the autumn of 1974.[7] In the UK, it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in August 1974.[8]

Weekly charts [edit] Chart (1974–1975) Peakposition Australia (Kent Music Report)[9][10] 2 Belgium 2 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[11] 1 Canada RPM Top Singles 5 Ireland 2 Germany 27 Netherlands 3 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[12] 2 UK Singles Chart[8] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 2 US Billboard Easy Listening 1 US Billboard Hot Soul Singles 4 US Cash Box Top 100[14] 1

Year-end charts [edit] Chart (1974) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[10][15] 21 Canada[16] 61 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 37 South Africa[18] 19 Chart (1975) Rank US Billboard Hot 100[19] 75 US Cash Box[20] 93

Certifications

[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[22]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Brother Beyond version

[edit]

"When Will I See You Again"
Single by Brother Beyond
from the album Trust
Released	December 8, 1989
Recorded	1989
Genre	Pop
Length	3:34
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter	Gamble and Huff
Brother Beyond singles chronology
"Drive On" (1989) "When Will I See You Again" (1989) "Trust" (1990)

British boy band Brother Beyond covered the song on their 1989 album Trust, that was also released in the Compilation Ronny's Pop Show [1990/1] – Hochfeine Pop-Musik-Schallplatte.

Track listing

[edit]

CD maxi

1. "When Will I See You Again" (Radio Mix) – 4:28
2. "New Heights (The Clompete Mix)" (Cloud 9 Mix) – 4:25
3. "When Will I See You Again (Extended)" (Gee Extended Mix) – 6:42

7" Single

1. When Will I See You Again – 3:35
2. New Heights (Edit) – 3:20

Charts

[edit]

Chart (1989)	Peakposition
UK Singles Chart[23]	43
Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[24]	13

Thomas Anders version

[edit]

"When Will I See You Again"
Single by Thomas Anders feat. the Three Degrees
from the album When Will I See You Again
Released	July 18, 1993
Recorded	1992
Genre	Pop
Length	3:30
Label	Polydor
Songwriter	Gamble and Huff
Producers	Christian De Walden, Ralf Stemmann
Thomas Anders feat. the Three Degrees singles chronology
"Standing Alone" (1992) "When Will I See You Again" (1993) "I'll Love You Forever" (1993)

In 1993, Thomas Anders released his version of the song with the Three Degrees, which appeared on the same-named album. The success of the cover version was modest. The following year, Anders released a Spanish-language version of the song titled Una mañana de sol.

Track listing

[edit]

CD maxi

1. When Will I See You Again – 3:30
2. Thomas Anders – Is It My Love 3:40
3. When Will I See You Again (Extended Version) – 5:15

7" Single

1. When Will I See You Again (Precious String-House Mix) – 4:45
2. When Will I See You Again (Precious Club Mix) – 5:10
3. When Will I See You Again (Precious Outerspace Mix) – 5:32
4. When Will I See You Again (Precious Pop Mix) – 5:28

Charts

[edit]

Chart (1993)	Peakposition
German Singles Chart[25]	37

Other cover versions

[edit]

• Geoffrey Chung arranged a reggae version released as a 7" on the Antrim label in 1974.[citation needed]
• Magda Layna released the song as a single on Megatone Records in 1983.[citation needed]
• PJ Harvey released a cover of the song for short film Amaeru Fallout 1972, directed by Sarah Miles in 1997.
• Jahred Gomes released the song under the name "When" on his solo Unite EP (March 27, 2012).[citation needed]

• U2 covered the song on their Elevation Tour following 9/11. The names of the victims of the terrorist attacks were shown on the screen when they played the song

References

[edit]

1. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "The Sound of Philadelphia: Philly Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 52. ISBN 031214704X.
2. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
3. ^ 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh
4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 198. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 243.
7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 578.
8. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 303–4. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 309. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
11. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. December 7, 1974. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
12. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
13. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
14. ^ "Top 100 1974-12-07". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 427. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
16. ^ Bac-lac.gc.ca
17. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1974" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
18. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1974". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
19. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
20. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
21. ^ "British single certifications – The Three Degrees". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
22. ^ "American single certifications – Three Degrees". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
23. ^ chartsurfer.de
24. ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
25. ^ chartsurfer.de

External links

[edit]

• Lyrics of this song
• The Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again on YouTube

v t e The Three Degrees
Valerie Holiday Helen Scott Freddi Poole Fayette Pinkney Linda Turner Shirley Porter Janet Harmon Sheila Ferguson Sandra Tucker Miquel Brown Vera Brown Rhea Harris Victoria Wallace Cynthia Garrison
Studio albums	Maybe (1970) The Three Degrees (1973) International (1975) A Toast of Love (1976) Standing Up for Love (1977) New Dimensions (1978) 3D (1979) Album of Love (1982) ...And Holding (1989) Out of the Past into the Future (1993)
Live albums	The Three Degrees Live In Japan (1975) The Three Degrees Live (1976) Live in the UK (1985)
Singles	"Close Your Eyes" (1965) "Maybe" (1966) "Ebb Tide" (1971) "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" (with MFSB) (1974) "Love Is the Message" (with MFSB) (1974) "When Will I See You Again" (1974) "Free Ride" (1975)
Related topics	Richard Barrett Gamble and Huff

v t e Brother Beyond
Nathan Moore David Ben White Carl Fysh Steve Alexander Eg White
Studio albums	Get Even Trust
Compilation albums	The Very Best of Brother Beyond
Singles	"The Harder I Try" "He Ain't No Competition" "Be My Twin" "Drive On" "When Will I See You Again" "Trust" "The Girl I Used to Know"
Related articles	Discography

Authority control databases	MusicBrainz work