"Love, Need and Want You" is a song recorded by Patti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle

Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...

, released in 1984 as the second single from her album, I'm in Love Again

I'm in Love Again

I'm In Love Again is the sixth solo album released by singer Patti LaBelle in late 1983. Featuring the hits "If Only You Knew" and "Love, Need and Want You", this album is credited with reviving the singer's career after years of chart struggles on both the pop and R&B charts.-History:Patti LaBelle...

. The song is a mid-tempo R&B number written for LaBelle by accomplished musician Bunny Sigler

Bunny Sigler

Walter "Bunny" Sigler is a pop and R&B songwriter and record producer who has done extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and who was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s. He is nicknamed "Mr...

 and Kenny Gamble. Following the success of her breakthrough R&B hit, "If Only You Knew

If Only You Knew

If Only You Knew was a single written and produced primarily by Dexter Wansel and Cynthia Biggs for American singer Patti LaBelle's sixth solo album, I'm in Love Again. It was released as the album's official first single in 1983, spending four weeks at number one on the U.S...

", the song peaked at no. 10 on the R&B chart.

The B-side, "I'm in Love Again", was, like several other songs from the album, recorded two years prior to being issued. While the album version of "I'm in Love Again" produced an adult contemporary, light pop sound, LaBelle's several live performances produced a slower, R&B version of the song allowing the singer to show off in both her mid-range and fuller vocal delivery. LaBelle hasn't performed it in her set list since the end of the eighties.

Covers and samples

"Love, Need and Want You" was first sampled by rapper Flesh-n-Bone

Flesh-n-Bone

Stanley Howse, better known as Flesh-n-Bone, is an American rapper from Cleveland, Ohio and is known as a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony...

 for his hit "World So Cruel" (from the 1996 album T.H.U.G.S.

T.H.U.G.S.

T.H.U.G.S. is the debut solo album by rapper Flesh-N-Bone from the rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The album was released on November 19, 1996, on Mo Thugs Records and Def Jam Recordings. The title stands for "Trues Humbly United Gatherin' Souls"...

), which featured rapper Rev. Run of the legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC. It was famously covered by rap singer Nelly

Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...

 and R&B singer Kelly Rowland

Kelly Rowland

Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...

 (formerly of Destiny's Child

Destiny's Child

Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...

) on their Grammy-winning hit, "Dilemma

Dilemma (song)

"Dilemma" is a song by the American rapper Nelly, featuring R&B singer Kelly Rowland. The single was released in 2002 from the Nelly's album Nellyville, and Rowland's album Simply Deep...

". Big Boi

Big Boi

Antwan André Patton , better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, song-writer, record producer and actor, best known for being a member of American hip hop duo OutKast alongside André 3000. His work in the duo has produced six studio albums. During the duo's hiatus, he and André...

 of the group Outkast

OutKast

Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...

 released the hit song, "Ghettomusick" from the Outkast album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast, released September 23, 2003 on LaFace Records in the United States. Issued as a double album, it clocks in at over two hours and consists of a solo album from both of the group's members...

, and parts of the song sampled "Love, Need and Want You". A re-recorded version and a video of the song would feature LaBelle, who was also in the video to "Dilemma" as Rowland's mother. R&B singer Lloyd

Lloyd (singer)

Lloyd Polite, Jr. , who performs under the mononym Lloyd, is an American R&B recording artist, who experienced as a member of the group N-Toon before embarking on a solo career in 2004....

 sampled it for his hit song, "Lay It Down

Lay It Down (Lloyd song)

"Lay It Down" is the lead single from R&B singer Lloyd's fourth studio album King of Hearts. The track was produced by Polow da Don and samples Patti LaBelle's "Love, Need and Want You". The single was originally released at YoungGoldie.com on August 15, 2010...

". Responding to its success, Patti LaBelle was called to add in vocals for a remixed version of the song, released as "Lay It Down II: A Tribute to the Legends", which was dedicated to the late Teena Marie

Teena Marie

Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...

 and a then-ailing Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

. Singer Jaguar Wright

Jaguar Wright

Jaguar Wright is a soul/R&B vocalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is part of the Okayplayer collective. She has performed along rap acts such as The Roots, Jay-Z, and Blackalicious.-Career:...

 covered the song for her debut album, Denials, Delusions and Decisions.

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	-
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles	10

Credits

• Lead vocals by Patti LaBelle
• Instrumentation by Sigma Sound Studio musicians
• Produced by Kenny Gamble and Bunny Sigler
  Bunny Sigler
  Walter "Bunny" Sigler is a pop and R&B songwriter and record producer who has done extensive work with the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and who was instrumental in creating the "Philly Sound" in the early 1970s. He is nicknamed "Mr...