Rush Rush

"Rush Rush"
Single by Paula Abdul
from the album Spellbound
Released	May 2, 1991
Format	Cassette 7" single CD maxi
Recorded	January 25, 1991 - Temple Life Recording Studios
Genre	Dance-pop/R&B
Length	4:22 (single) 4:56 (album)
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Peter Lord
Producer	Peter Lord Vernon Jeffrey Smith
Certification	Platinum (US)
Paula Abdul singles chronology
"Opposites Attract" (1989) "Rush Rush" (1991) "The Promise of a New Day" (1991)

"Rush Rush" was the first single released from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound. Written by Peter Lord, and produced by Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith (both members of The Family Stand), the song achieved success in the U.S. where it topped the Billboard Hot 100.

The song ranked #60 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time.[1]

Background

"Rush Rush" was a departure for Abdul stylistically, as it was her first ballad released as a single, following as it did the five uptempo singles from her debut LP, and was viewed by all observers as a rather risky strategy in kicking off her second album of new material Spellbound. But the decision was vindicated, as it was very well received at retail.

Abdul laid down a scratch vocal for the track, which was never intended to make it to the song's final mix. But the producers felt that its unpolished sound was what was needed to give the song its ingenuous tone, to match its subject matter and accompanying promotional video clip; it ended up on the final cut.

Music video

The video features a street race and co-stars Keanu Reeves, drawing stylistic inspiration from the 1955 James Dean/Natalie Wood film Rebel Without A Cause, and as such, has a period theme. A 90-second dramatic prelude to the song rather mirrors the characters from "Rebel." The video was directed by Stefan Würnitzer^[1], and produced by Karen Rohrbacher for Lucasfilm Commercial Productions.^[2]

Chart performances

"Rush Rush" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #36 on May 11, 1991, and hit #1 five weeks later, June 15, 1991, where it remained for five consecutive weeks. At the time of its five-week stint, it was the longest running #1 since Madonna's "Like a Virgin" spent six weeks at #1 during the winter of 1984-1985. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. It peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listings and formats

U.S. Cassette

1. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) (Peter Lord)
2. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) (Peter Lord)

U.S. Promo 5" CD

1. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) — 4:22 (Peter Lord)
2. "Rush Rush" (LP version) — 4:56 (Peter Lord)
3. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) — 5:54 (Peter Lord)

UK 5" CD

1. "Rush Rush" (LP version) (Peter Lord)
2. "Rush Rush" (7" edit) (Peter Lord)
3. "Rush Rush" (dub mix) (Peter Lord)

Official remixes

• 7" edit - 4:22
• Dub mix - 5:54
• Dub edit - 4:59

Certifications

Charts

References