written by David Foster, Jay Graydon & Randy Goodrum

“Who’s Holding Donna Now” was a captivating pop/R&B ballad sung by popular R&B group DeBarge. This smooth composition was co-written by David Foster and Jay Graydon with lyrics by famed singer/songwriter Randy Goodrum. In 1985 under Graydon’s production, “Who’s Holding Donna Now” became a multi-format smash hit when it reached #6 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #2 on R&B and #1 on Adult Contemporary charts.

The birth of “Who’s Holding Donna Now” is quite interesting. Goodrum was one of the most in-demand songwriters of the eighties. He wrote or co-wrote hit singles for some top acts including Anne Murray, Steve Perry, Chicago, George Benson and Toto. Goodrum even co-wrote with Foster and Jim Vallance Murray’s 1986 #1 country hit, “Now And Forever (You And Me).” Foster and Graydon were writing material to be submitted for Gene Wilder’s wonderful movie, “The Woman In Red.” Their material didn’t impress the movie’s producers so Stevie Wonder eventually got the job and his soundtrack had one of Wonder’s biggest hit singles, “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” When DeBarge started their sessions with Graydon, one of those original Foster/Graydon demos attracted the ear of lead singer El DeBarge. He asked to record that song for the new album. Since the song was only an instrumental, Graydon sent the track to Goodrum to add lyrics and the rest is history.

Both Foster and Goodrum released solo renditions of “Who’s Holding Donna Now.” Foster delivered a tender, piano lead instrumental cover on his 1991 cd “Rechordings.” In 1994, Goodrum included the song on his collection, “Words And Music.” It was a special project for the singer/songwriter who recorded some gems of his songbook in a refined, stripped down, evocative atmosphere. “Who’s Holding Donna Now” was one of the famous songs receiving this interesting re-working together with other pop masterpieces like “You Needed Me,” “20-20,” “Bluer Than Blue,” “Foolish Heart” and “I’ll Be Over You.”

Recently, Goodrum teamed again with Graydon to collaborate on a project called JaR. A fantastic cd titled “Scene 29” saw the light of day in 2008. “Scene 29” was one of the best quality pop affairs heard in recent years. This cd had strong echoes of Steely Dan and was a craft in superior songwriting and production. Graydon and Goodrum are currently working on JaR’s sophomore album that should hopefully be released later this year.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/who_s_holding_donna_now.mp3|titles=Who’s Holding Donna Now|artists=Randy Goodrum]

All Vocals, Keyboards & Programming: Randy Goodrum
Guitar: Mike Landau

Produced by Randy Goodrum

Lyrics

Sometimes a love won’t let go
Hard as I try I know it shows
Everybody’s telling me
You’ll be over her eventually
But how am I supposed to feel so secure?

When I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To be in his shoes somehow
And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering what magic can be found
To turn me back to the one who’s holding Donna now

The letter started with good-bye
I’ve read it half a million times
Tell me this is just a dream
When I wake up she’ll be here next to me
Tell me it will be just the way it was

Well, I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To be in his shoes right now
And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering what magic can be found
To turn me back to the one who’s holding Donna now

[break]

Who’s holding Donna now?
I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t d do
To be in his shoes right now

And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
Oh, Donna, what magic can be found?
To make me be the one who’s holding Donna now
I can’t get Donna off my mind

David Foster doesn’t consider himself a singer, but on occasion he can deliver good vocal performances like his hit duet with Olivia Newton-John on “The Best Of Me” and more recently with Swedish singer/actress Lisa Lovbrand for an elegant rendition of the classic “When I Fall In Love.”  Another nice duet was the one Foster did with Japanese superstar, Seiko Matsuda on “Every Little Hurt.” It is an up-tempo ballad originally recorded for Matsuda’s 1988 album “Citron,” which was produced by Foster. “Every Little Hurt,” co-written by the Canadian music maker with hit songwriter Randy Goodrum, is a keyboard driven pop ditty with a delicious melody and a radio friendly arrangement well-suited for the two singer’s voices. “Every Little Hurt” was also part of Foster’s 1989 compilation album entitled “Time Passing.” That record, eleased on the Asian market, presented half a dozen previously released Foster classics like “Winter Games,” “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Tap Dance” and the title track, a haunting instrumental from “The Symphony Sessions.” “Every Little Hurt” was one of the two vocal tracks included together with “And When She Danced,” another pretty duet ballad by Foster together with Marilyn Martin from the “Stealing Home” movie soundtrack.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/every_little_hurt.mp3|titles=Every little hurt|artists=David Foster & Seiko Matsuda]

Lead Vocals: David Foster & Seiko Matsuda
Keyboards: David Foster
Guitars: Michael Landau
Background Vocals: Jason Scheff
Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

We both know
Time can heal a broken heart

And tears soon dry
And never leave a single scar

(You’re) gone without trace
Time I should face it alone
I’ll try to say goodbye to a love that just won’t die
But night after night

Every little hurt just brings me down
Every little tear turns me around
Every little hurt just brings me down
Guess I’m better off with you than without

You and I
Are not the same in any way

Guess we…must have had enough
Of compromise and give and take

White satin and lace
Promises we both made
Doesn’t matter now, somehow these feelings soon must fade
But how can they fade

Every little hurt just brings me down
Every little tear turns me around
Every little hurt just brings me down
Guess I’m better off with you than without
Maybe love can turn around

I wish I had one more chance
Just another shot at paradise

And if we could just go back through time
We could work this whole thing out
Instead of breaking up….we’d be making love tonight

Every little hurt just brings me down
Every little tear turns me around
Every little hurt just brings me down
Guess I’m better off with you than without
Maybe love can turn around

Debarge were a good, r&b group formed in the early eighties by four brothers and one sister. They had a string of hits with mellow songs like “All This Love”, “Time Will Reveal” and “I Like It” . They took the place on the pop/r&b charts that once belonged to the Jackson 5 and their leader and most talented singer/songwriter, Eldra, shared some very strong vocal similarities with Michael Jackson. In 1985 they surely had their best year ever, reaching the top ten twice and recording their most successful album, “Rhythm Of The Night”. The title track, with its Caribbean rhythms, was a #1 r&b and #3 pop hit, and it is a nice dance number but the best moments on the album were those produced by Jay Graydon and “Who’s Holding Donna Now” is the best of the bunch.

It is a delicious midtempo track, with some smooth vocals sung by Eldra and the usual, fantastic rhythm arrangements by Graydon and Foster. The tune is completely dominated by keyboards and synths played by Foster with the help of Steve Porcaro, Jay Graydon and Robbie Buchanan with a cute synth solo that echoes the one played on Jarreau’s “Mornin’” a couple of years before.

The song reached #2 on the r&b chart and #6 on the pop chart. After the great success of this record, Eldra left the group and released a solo cd simply entitled “El De Barge” with Graydon back producing and many other big names involved like Foster and Burt Bacharach, it is a good work and sure worth a listen.

There are a couple of interesting covers of “Who’s Holding Donna Now” made by two of its co-writers. David Foster did an instrumental version, in 1991, on his “Rechordings” cd, while singer/songwriter Randy Goodrum sang his own lyrics on his “Words And Music” cd back in 1994.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/debarge.mp3|titles=WHO’S HOLDING DONNA NOW|artists=El DeBarge]

Lead Vocals : El DeBarge
Synthesizers: Steve Porcaro, Jay Graydon & Robbie Buchanan
Synthesizer and Piano: David Foster
Drums: Carlos Vega
Bass: Abraham Laboriel
Background vocals: Richard Page & Steve George
Arranged by David Foster & Jay Graydon
Produced by Jay Graydon

Lyrics

Sometimes a love won’t let go
Hard as I try I know it shows
Everybody’s telling me
You’ll be over her eventually
But how am I supposed to feel so secure?

When I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To be in his shoes somehow
And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering what magic can be found
To turn me back to the one who’s holding Donna now

The letter started with good-bye
I’ve read it half a million times
Tell me this is just a dream
When I wake up she’ll be here next to me
Tell me it will be just the way it was

Well, I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To be in his shoes right now
And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
And I keep wondering what magic can be found
To turn me back to the one who’s holding Donna now

[break]

Who’s holding Donna now?
I keep wondering who’s heart she’s knocking around
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
To be in his shoes right now

And I keep wondering who’s holding Donna now
Oh, Donna, what magic can be found?
To make me be the one who’s holding Donna now
I can’t get Donna off my mind