To Be With You – Mr. Big | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks) & Mainstream Rock (#19); 1992
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Eric Martin, vocalist with Mr. Big, hoped to make it big in 1985 when his solo single, Information, charted. However, Information hung around for only two weeks, and hung it up after peaking at #87. A few years later Eric found himself fronting Mr. Big, a San Franciscan outfit named after a Free song, formed by bass player Billy Sheehan – late of David Lee Roth’s band. Sheehan also recruited Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey. The band’s 1989 self-titled debut caught fire with the metal-hungry Japanese fans, and cracked the U.S. Top 50 on the strength of rock airplay of Addicted To That Rush. 1991’s Lean Into It produced a similar-sized favorite with the rock crowd in Green-Tinted Sixties Mind. To Be With You, the last song recorded for Lean Into It, was inspired by a school girl friend of Eric’s. David Grahame – one-time Beatlemania actor – helped polish up the words and melody. It was only released as a single after a Nebraska radio station began spinning it. The rest of the nation then followed suit; giving Mr. Big a #1 smash.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Kevin Elson
Lyrics Written by:
- Eric Martin
- David Grahame
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).