"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in Cash Box and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1972.
His third straight top-ten pop hit during his early solo career with Motown. It was the first collaboration between Ware and Ross, the younger brother of Diana Ross. This song is one of Jackson's most covered songs, with versions by Zulema, Marvin Gaye, Willie Hutch, Jason Weaver and later The Fugees. Ware and Ross also penned the classic Marvin Gaye hit, "I Want You", several years afterwards.
The song was remixed by Dallas Austin for the 2009 release The Remix Suite.
Track listing
A. "I Wanna Be Where You Are" - 2:58
B. "We've Got a Good Thing Going" - 2:59
Covers and samples
While Willie Hutch's version opened his 1973 album Fully Exposed, Zulema had a dance hit with a disco version of the tune in 1974, featured on her RCA debut album Zulema (1975). In 1976 Marvin Gaye's cover was more of an instrumental excerpt for him singing the title and dedicating the track to his then-girlfriend Janis Hunter and his children Marvin III (referred as "little Marvin" on the record), Nona and Frankie Christian. The alternate instrumental, later issued on a 2003 deluxe edition re-release of the I Want You album, was a funk-styled instrumental that featured Gaye's background vocals harmonizing throughout the track, which was also produced by Ware. In 1993 Weaver's cover followed, and then the Fugees' version was completely different save for the choruses sung by Lauryn Hill. Juelz Santana sampled the song on two tracks, "Did U Miss Me pts.1 & 2", on the DJ Green Lantern mixtape Alive on Arrival.
1970s
Dusty Springfield performed the song on the BBC1 TV show It's Lulu, Not To Mention Dudley Moore, which aired in July 1972. Gary Bartz opened his 1972 album Juju Street Songs with an interpretation of the song. Co-writer Leon Ware recorded a version for his 1976 Motown album Musical Massage. Melissa Manchester released a cover of the song in 1977 which failed to chart. Jazz flutist Dave Valentin covered an instrumental version of the song on his debut album Legends, which was also the debut release of the then-new GRP Records label (a subsidiary of Arista Records).
1980s
Jose Feliciano, on his first album for Motown Records, produced by Berry Gordy, covered the song in English and then re-recorded it in 1982 on his next LP at Motown in Spanish (the title became "Ahora Si Quiero Amar"). Both versions were hits in Latin America and charted at nr. 63 on R&B USA Billboard R&B artist Sybil recorded the song for her eponymous second album (1989), her first for the American market. The song was released as a single in 1990 and peaked at No. 86 on the US R&B chart.