It Ain't Over 'til It's Over

"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over"
Single by Lenny Kravitz
from the album Mama Said
Released	June 6, 1991
Format	7" 12" CD
Genre	Soul funk pop
Length	3:55
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Lenny Kravitz
Producer(s)	Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology
"Always on the Run" (1991) "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (1991) "Stand by My Woman" (1992)

"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American musician Lenny Kravitz for his second studio album, Mama Said (1991). Released as the album's second single in June 1991, the song is a mid-tempo ballad, musically inspired by Motown, Philly soul, and Earth, Wind & Fire (particularly That's the Way of the World). The horn line at the end is actually performed by the Phenix Horns from Earth, Wind & Fire. "That song just came out one day, and I knew it had a classic vibe. And I still love that song very much today", Kravitz said in an interview for VivaMusic.com in 2000.^[1] The line is based on a Yogiism, or quotation from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over."^[2] It was Kravitz's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 of his career, and his highest peak in the chart. English singer Mutya Buena's 2007 song "Real Girl" contains a sample from "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over".

Chart performance

"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" is Kravitz's most successful single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart to date, peaking at number two behind Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You". It was also popular in the United Kingdom, where it reached number eleven.

Music video

The music video, directed by Jesse Dylan, features Kravitz and his band performing the song. It also featured a violin section, which performs the main song riff. In the studio, Kravitz actually plays all the instruments, apart from the string and horn sections. Different kinds of background lighting colors were featured in the video. It is an apparent rip-off of the music video of The Door's "Touch Me".

Members

• Lenny Kravitz – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums
• Dean Menta – lead guitar
• Phenix Horns – horns

Track listings and formats

CD single and 12" single

1. "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" – 3:55
2. "I'll Be Around" – 2:52
3. "The Difference Is Why" – 4:48

7" single

1. "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" – 3:55
2. "The Difference Is Why" – 4:48

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1991)[3][4] Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 25 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 20 Canada (RPM Singles Chart)[8] 2 France (SNEP)[9] 29 Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 43 Irish Albums (IRMA)[11] 14 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 21 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 11 US Billboard Hot 100[16] 2 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[17] 5 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[18] 10 Year-end charts Chart (1991) Rank Canadian RPM Singles Chart[19] 16 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[20] 60 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[21] 36 References "Lenny Kravitz Grammy Awards!". Lenny-Kravitz.com. Retrieved 2007-03-12. See Examples of Yogiisms. "Mama Said > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-06-21. "Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over – swisscharts.com". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 2008-06-21. "Australian-charts.com – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Austriancharts.at – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Ultratop.be – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Top Singles - Volume 54, No. 12, August 24, 1991". RPM. Retrieved 2010-07-31. "Lescharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "The Irish Charts". IRMA. Retrieved 2008-06-21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Charts.org.nz – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Swedishcharts.com – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'til It's Over". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Chart Stats – Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2008-06-21. "Lenny Kravitz – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Lenny Kravitz. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Lenny Kravitz – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Lenny Kravitz. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Lenny Kravitz – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Lenny Kravitz. Retrieved July 2, 2016. "Top Singles - Volume 55, No. 3, December 21, 1991". RPM. Retrieved 2011-02-23. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.1706&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.1706.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.1706 "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.