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While You See a Chance

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"While You See a Chance"
US single sleeve
Single by Steve Winwood
from the album Arc of a Diver
B-side"Vacant Chair"
Released19 December 1980[1]
Recorded1980
StudioNetherturkdonic, Gloucestershire, England[2]
Genre
Length5:11 (album version)
4:07 (single edit)
LabelIsland
Songwriters
ProducerSteve Winwood
Steve Winwood singles chronology
"Time Is Running Out"
(1977)		 "While You See a Chance"
(1980)		 "Arc of a Diver"
(1981)
Music video
"While You See a Chance" on YouTube
Audio
"While You See a Chance" (album version) on YouTube

"While You See a Chance" is a song performed by the English musician Steve Winwood,[5] which he co-wrote with the American lyricist Will Jennings.[6] It was first released as the lead single of his second studio album Arc of a Diver (1980).

In the United Kingdom, the single was released by Island Records in December 1980, with the song "Vacant Chair" (from his 1977 self-titled debut album) included as its B-side.[1] A few months after its release, the song became Island Records' first cassette single.[7] The song ultimately reached number 45 in Winwood's native UK.[8]

According to Radio & Records, "While You See a Chance" was the fourth most-added song to US radio stations during the week of February 7, 1981.[9] By the following week, 62% of reporting radio stations had included the song in their playlists.[10] The song peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1981[5] and number 68 on the Billboard year-end top 100 for 1981.[11] The song was a bigger hit in Canada, where it peaked at number 3.[12]

Background

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Winwood co-wrote the song with Will Jennings, who developed the lyrics. When discussing the collaboration with Jennings, Winwood said that "we didn't talk about what the song was about. He just came up with the lyrics and it was right for me, right for him, and right for the song."[13]

When the song was being mixed, Nobby Clark, who served as an engineer for the recording sessions, accidentally deleted the drum tracks by hitting the "record" feature on the mixing console. Attempts to fully restore the drums were unsuccessful, so Winwood took a Minimoog solo that he had played at the end of the song and repurposed it for the intro.[13]

According to Clark, Winwood determined that the minimoog solo would be a "perfect way to open the song". Clark stated that "the disaster turned into something really memorable. It had been a terrible two weeks trying to patch things up and we ended with pure magic."[13] Winwood played all the instruments on the song.[14] By 1988, the song had received enough airplay to earn Winwood the Million Play award.[13]

Critical reception

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Reviewing the single for Music Week, Tony Jasper felt that the song bore a resemblance to some of Winwood's previous work with the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and Traffic without sounding dated.[15] Cashbox characterised the song as "solid pop, AOR fare from the veteran" with "layers of reverent keyboards [that] slowly give way to a more peppy tempo."[16] Record World called the song's keyboard work "celestial" and "outstanding".[17]

Personnel

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Charts

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Weekly charts

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References

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  1. 1 2 "New Singles" (PDF). Record Business. 15 December 1980. p. 27. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  2. ↑ 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Hachette UK. 5 December 2011. p. 1315. ISBN 9781844037148. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Evans, Paul (2004). "Steve Winwood". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 882–883. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  4. ↑ Tomlin, Edward (March 23, 2023). "10 Best Steve Winwood Songs of All Time - Singersroom.com".
  5. 1 2 "Steve Winwood". Billboard. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Palmer, Robert (21 January 1981). "Arc of a Diver, Steve Winwood". New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "Island joins the cassette single movement" (PDF). Music Week. 31 January 1981. p. 4. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  8. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart on 25/1/1981 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "National Airplay/30" (PDF). Radio & Records. 6 February 1981. p. 64. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  10. ↑ "Breakers" (PDF). Radio & Records. 13 February 1981. p. 56. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  11. 1 2 "Top 100 Hits of 1981/Top 100 Songs of 1981". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 16 May 1981. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Welch, Chris (1990). Steve Winwood: Roll With It. New York, NY: Perigee Books. pp. 140, 142–143. ISBN 0-399-51558-5. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ↑ "Arc of a Diver by Steve Winwood – Classic Rock Review". 27 December 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  15. ↑ Jasper, Tony (27 December 1980). "Select Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 24. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  16. ↑ "Feature Picks" (PDF). Cashbox. 7 February 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  17. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 7 February 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 18 April 2026 – via World Radio History.
  18. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 342. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ↑ "Steve Winwood – While You See a Chance" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 9, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "Steve Winwood – While You See a Chance" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "Steve Winwood – While You See a Chance". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Steve Winwood Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  24. ↑ "Steve Winwood Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  25. ↑ "Steve Winwood Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "Top 100 1981-04-25". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1981". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  28. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1981". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
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