1992 No. 1 Soft Rock Power Ballad Became A Monster Hit For This Metal Hair Band Melinda LorgeSat, March 14, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC 0 (Getty Images) In early 1992, Mr. Big's power ballad "To Be With You," which dropped months earlier on Nov. 22, 1991, became an unexpected success. The soft rock hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of February 1992 and stayed in that position for three straight weeks. For the band, however, the achievement only hinted at the song's larger significance: it is widelyregarded as the last glam metal song to reach No. 1 on that chart. RELATED: 1974 No 1.
1992 No. 1 Soft Rock Power Ballad Became A Monster Hit For This Metal Hair Band
Melinda LorgeSat, March 14, 2026 at 4:02 AM UTC
0
(Getty Images)
In early 1992, Mr. Big's power ballad "To Be With You," which dropped months earlier on Nov. 22, 1991, became an unexpected success. The soft rock hit topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the end of February 1992 and stayed in that position for three straight weeks. For the band, however, the achievement only hinted at the song's larger significance: it is widely-regarded as the last glam metal song to reach No. 1 on that chart.
RELATED: 1974 No 1. Hit Ranked a Greatest 'Love Song of All Time' Turns 52 Years Old Today
Released as the second single from the band's sophomore album, Lean Into It, "To Be With You," edged out Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" when it topped the charts, but also became a global phenomenon, taking the No.1 spot on the charts in 12 countries including the U.S., as well as Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand.
At the Time, the Song Was Unlike Anything Else They Had Released
Although Mr. Big is known as a glam metal hair band formed in the '80s, "To Be With You" had little in common with the genre. Built around mellow acoustics, harmonies, and human handclaps, the tune offers a stripped-down feel with tender lyrics that pull at the heartstrings. That melodic sound was a deviation from the band's catalog of tunes that featured glam metal tracks like "Take Cover," "Wind Me Up," and "Addicted To That Rush."
Regardless, "To Be With You," and its black-and-white music video, connected with audiences everywhere, becoming a timeless track that still finds people singing along today.
Behind the Lyrics
Written by lead singer Eric Martin alongside David Grahame and produced by Kevin Elson, "To Be With You" finds the singer fixated on a potential love interest. He waits in the wings while trying to persuade his crush to leave her current flame to be with him.
"I'm the one who wants to be with you / Deep inside I hope you feel it too (feel it too) / Waited on a line of greens and blues (waited on a line) / Just to be the next to be with you," the catchy and familiar chorus goes.
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In a 2022 interview on The Mitch Lafon and Jeremy White Show, Martin opened up about the inspiration behind the beloved track, saying that he wrote the beginning of the song as a teenager about a real-life girl he knew at the time.
"We remained friends for a while, and then I just kinda lost touch. She married a musician, a Scottish fellow …," he explained. "I had the nucleus of that song when I was 16 years old. I carried it in my bag of tricks for years, and in 1988, I actually got some help for it with David. He and I finished it"
He continued, "I played it for [bassist] Paul Gilbert when we were putting Mr. Big together ... .it got put further away from the pile of songs that we had written and there was a chance it wasn't going to make it ... .We didn't know where to put it [on the album] and it ended up on the end of the record."
Formed in 1988, the original members of Mr. Big consisted of Martin, along with bassist Billy Sheehan, guitarist Paul Gilbert, and drummer Pat Torpey. The band signed with Atlantic Records, a label that had previously dropped Martin, who was working as a solo artist before joining the band.
Mr. Big's albums include the band's 1989 self-titled album, followed by 1991's Lean into It, 1993's Bump Ahead, 1996's Hey Man, 1999's Get Over It, 2001's Actual Size, 2011's What If…, 2014's The Stories We Could Tell, 2017's Defying Gravity, and 2024's Ten.
Related: 1965 Classic Was a No. 1 Hit 61 Years Ago Today
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: March 14, 2026 at 09:45AM on Source: RED MAG
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