The Message



49ers are an Italian Italo House and Eurodance act featuring producer/DJ Gianfranco Bortolotti and vocalist Dawn Mitchell who was later replaced by Anne Marie Smith. They had a number of hits on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, including Touch Me and Don't You Love Me, both of which hit number one in 1990. 49ers exemplified two characteristics of Italo House: the taking of lyrical hooks from other compositions and the off-kilter approach to English grammar and narrative. The couplets that often form the choruses of Italo House records usually make sense in a roughly impressionistic manner (if at all). Touch Me was based on an Aretha Franklin sample (Rock-a-Lott). Don't You Love Me, prominently featuring a vocal sample from Jody Watley's hit Don't You Want Me, also entered the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to number 78. Other borrowed phrases and hooks are dispersed throughout the accompanying album, making for a type of aural scavenger hunt for the listener. Follow-up Don't You Love Me did not do as well, but made the Top 20, hitting #12 on the UK singles chart. Other hit singles from their debut album include I Need You, Die Walkure, and Girl To Girl. In 1992, 49ers second full length album Playing With My Heart saw the entry of vocalist Anne Marie Smith and a slight change in direction with a more Garage House sound. Nevertheless, both the album and its singles Move Your Feet, Got To Be Free and The Message all became major hits. After this album, their output remained limited to singles. However, their success continued into the late 1990s with such singles as Lovin' You, Rockin' My Body, Baby, I'm Yours, and I Got the Music. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.