1980Released
2:55

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about What I Like About You. By Songfacts®.

The Romantics, so named because they formed on Valentine's Day 1977 in Detroit, have only two US Top 40 hits, and "What I Like About You," now their best-known song, isn't one of them. It attracted little attention and was only a minor hit when first released in 1980 on their debut album, but found new life later in the decade when it became a popular choice for an advertising jingle, particularly for Budweiser beer. Since then the song has also become a fixture at sporting events, bars and nightclubs, and parties and celebrations of all kinds, and has taken its place as one of the most popular rock anthems of all time. The Romantics' two Top 40 hits were "Talking In Your Sleep" (#3) and "One In A Million" (#37). Both came in 1983, from their fourth album In Heat.

In another ironic twist, the licensing of this song for advertising, the very thing that sparked the song's comeback, was apparently handled illegally. It was secured from the band's management without the band's knowledge or approval, which sparked a lawsuit lasting several years. Despite now having faded into obscurity, the band stayed together during this time, albeit with several lineup changes, and remain active as of 2012.

This song's resurgence had a lot to do with MTV. The band made a simple performance video for the song that MTV put in rotation when they launched in 1981. It fit the criteria the network was looking for: American band, rock, catchy song, acceptable production quality. Since few American artists made videos at the time, MTV made do with lots of European imports when they started.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of What I Like About You.
AKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
160BPM

Album

The album What I Like About You is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released What I Like About You.
Epic
(P) 1979 Nemperor Records Inc.

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