The Closer I Get to You#Luther Vandross and Beyoncé version

"The Closer I Get to You" was written by Reggie Lucas and James Mtume, who were members of Roberta Flack's touring band and played on Blue Lights in the Basement.{{cite web|last=Hogan|first=Ed|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-closer-i-get-to-you-t2761141|title=The Closer I Get to You|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|access-date=August 29, 2011|archive-date=December 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211162323/http://www.allmusic.com/song/the-closer-i-get-to-you-t2761141|url-status=live}} They wrote the song between tours and, during the sessions for the album, brought it to Flack's producer Joe Ferla, who played it for Flack. Ferla, Flack (as Rubina Flake) and Gene McDaniels produced the track, with Ahmet Ertegun serving as executive producer.{{cite AV media notes|title=The Closer I Get To You / Love Is The Healing |others=Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway |date=1977 |publisher=Atlantic Records}} Flack and Donny Hathaway, good friends while attending Howard University, had recorded a self-titled album of duets in 1972.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/q6cg |title=Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway Review |first=Daryl |last=Easlea |publisher=BBC Music |year=2011 |access-date=February 2, 2014 |archive-date=September 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925114427/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/q6cg |url-status=live }} Five years later, the duo collaborated again on "The Closer I Get to You".{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/473075/the-40-biggest-duets-of-all-time |title=The 40 Biggest Duets Of All Time |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |page=1 |date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130129044851/http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/473075/the-40-biggest-duets-of-all-time |url-status=live }}

File:Roberta Flack 1976.jpg

"The Closer I Get to You" was not originally written as a duet. Flack's manager David Franklin, who had worked with Hathaway in the past, decided to re-write the song to include him. Hathaway had been suffering from severe bouts of clinical depression at the time, which often forced him to be hospitalized. The depression also caused mood swings, which adversely affected his partnership with Flack,{{cite book|title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|first=Vladimir|last=Bogdanov|isbn=0879307447|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|date=August 14, 2003}}{{page needed|date=August 2013}} who, following Hathaway's death, would tell Jet magazine:

I tried to reach out to Donny. That's how we managed to do the song we did last year. I felt this need because I didn't know what to do. I couldn't save him, I knew he was sick. But I knew when he sat down at that piano and sang for me it was like it was eight or nine years ago because he sang and played his ass off.{{cite magazine |title=The Two Sides of Roberta Flack |magazine=Jet|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|page=45|date=November 29, 1979 |volume=57|number=11|issn=0021-5996}}

Flack announced that "The Closer I Get to You" would forever be a dedication to Hathaway, and that all money made from the song would be donated to Hathaway's widow and two children. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "The Closer I Get to You" is set in common time and moves at a tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song is written in the key of A major and follows the chord progression D_maj9–C{{music|sharp}}_m7–F{{music|sharp}}_m7–A_maj7. Flack sings in the vocal range of C{{music|sharp}}₄–F{{music|sharp}}₅.{{cite web |url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0052014 |title=Roberta Flack 'The Closer I Get To You" Sheet Music |date=6 March 2006 |publisher=Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing |access-date=August 25, 2013}} "The Closer I Get to You" was released as a 7-inch single with "Love is the Healing" as its B-side.{{cite AV media notes|title=The Closer I Get to You |others=Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway|date=1978|type=US 7-inch vinyl|publisher=Atlantic Records|ASIN=B000P93VQQ}}

Critics described "The Closer I Get to You" as Flack at the top of her form.{{cite book|title=Notable Black American Women|first=Jessy|last=Carney Smith|volume=2|isbn=0-8103-9177-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess/page/226 226]|publisher=Gale Research Inc|year=1996|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/notableblackamer00jess}} The song came in at number 40 on Billboard{{'}} poll of "The 40 Biggest Duets Of All Time", where it was described a "tender tune". Authors of All Music Guide To Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul described the song as ethereal.{{cite book|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|first1=Vladimir|last1=Bogdanov|first2=Chris|last2=Vudstra|first3=Stephen|last3=Thomas Erlewine|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=0-87930-653-X|date=April 10, 2002}} Alan Light of Vibe magazine characterized it as intimate and effortless as an overheard conversation.{{cite magazine |title=By All Means Necessary - Essential Donny Hathaway|first=Alan|last=Light|magazine=Vibe|publisher=Vibe Media |issn=1070-4701|page=162|date=November 2006 }} Author of 1001 Ways to Be Romantic, Gregory J. P. Godek, included the song in a list of "Best Love Song Duets".{{cite book |title=1001 Ways to Be Romantic|first=Gregory|last=J.P. Godek|publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc|year=2000 |isbn=1-57071-481-9|page=174}} A writer of Jet magazine described the song as a "pop-soul classic".{{cite magazine|title=Donny Hathaway's Daughter, Wins New Fans With CD, 'Outrun the Sky'|page=28|magazine=Jet|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|issn=0021-5996|volume=107|number=1|date=January 10, 2005}} Carolyn Quick Tillery, author of Celebrating Our Equality, described the song as a lasting musical legacy.{{cite book |first=Carolyn|last=Quick Tillery|isbn=0806525088|title=Celebrating Our Equality: A Cookbook With Recipes and Remembrances from Howard University|publisher=Kensington Books |year=2003 }} Devon Jarvis of Women's Health included Flack and Hathaway's version of "The Closer I Get to You" in "Favorite Karaoke Duets".{{cite magazine |title=Our Favorite Karaoke Duets|magazine=Women's Health |issn=0884-7355|publisher=Rodale, Inc. |date=May 2007|page=61|first=Devon|last=Jarvis}} While opening the "R&B Vault", Gail Mitchell of Billboard praised the song as a 1970s-era classic.{{cite magazine |title=Flyte Tyme Records Take Flight At Arista; 'Ladies Man' Soundtrack Opens R&B Vaults |publisher=Nielsen Business Media |magazine=Billboard |page=25 |volume=112 |number=37 |issn=0006-2510 |date=September 9, 2000}} While reviewing Blue Lights in the Basement, Jason Elias of the website Allmusic wrote, "The track easily attains the grace and gorgeous sound that a lot of the like-minded songs here just miss."{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-lights-in-the-basement-mw0000308598|title=Blue Lights in the Basement: Roberta Flack|first=Jason|last=Elias|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|access-date=July 5, 2012|archive-date=October 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011192134/http://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-lights-in-the-basement-mw0000308598|url-status=live}} Lewis Dene of BBC described "The Closer I Get to You" as a "soul masterpiece". Both Hathaway and Flack were nominated for a Grammy Award for their duet.{{cite magazine |title=The Mysterious Death of Donny Hathaway|first=D.|last=Michael Cheers|magazine=Ebony|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |page=62|volume=34|number=6|date=April 1979}}

The song became the duo's second number one on the US R&B charts in 1978, and climbed to the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100. "The Closer I Get to You" also peaked at number three on the Adult Contemporary charts.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=92}}

A music video for "The Closer I Get to You" was shot and directed by Roberta Flack herself.{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/videos/roberta-flack/309956/the-closer-i-get-to-you.jhtml |title=Videos : Roberta Flack : The Closer I Get To You |publisher=Country Music Television |access-date=August 24, 2011 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024054055/http://www.cmt.com/videos/roberta-flack/309956/the-closer-i-get-to-you.jhtml |url-status=dead }} The video begins with Flack's singing while sitting by a piano in a candle-lit room. Hathaway had died by the time the music video was shot, so as his verse plays, the camera zooms into a picture of Hathaway located on a table behind Flack's shoulder. Flack performs the rest of the song sitting by the piano, and the camera's direction occasionally looks over a candle flame during Hathaway's verses. The video ends with Flack's mouthing some of Hathaway's lyrics as she fades into the camera's view of the room lit by a single candle. A version of Flack's performing the song live circulated as its promotional music video.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/videos/roberta-flack/309956/the-closer-i-get-to-you.jhtml |title=The Closer I Get to You - Roberta Flack - Music Videos |publisher=MTV. MTV Networks |access-date=August 27, 2011 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107212634/http://www.mtv.com/videos/roberta-flack/309956/the-closer-i-get-to-you.jhtml |url-status=dead }}

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{{Infobox song

| name = The Closer I Get to You

| type = single

| cover = The Closer I Get to You Vandross.jpg

| artist = Luther Vandross and Beyoncé

| album = Dance with My Father {{noitalic|and}} Dangerously in Love

| released = June 13, 2004

| recorded =

| studio = {{flat list|

• The Hit Factory, New York City
• Right Track Studios, New York City

}}

| venue =

| genre = R&B

| length = 6:25 (Dance with My Father version)
4:57 (Dangerously in Love version)

| label = Columbia

| writer = {{flat list|

• Reggie Lucas
• James Mtume

}}

| producer = Nat Adderley Jr.

| chronology = Luther Vandross

| prev_title = Buy Me a Rose

| prev_year = 2004

| next_title = Shine

| next_year = 2006

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Beyoncé

| type = single

| prev_title = Naughty Girl

| prev_year = 2004

| title = The Closer I Get to You

| year = 2004

| next_title = Wishing on a Star

| next_year = 2005

}}

{{External music video|{{YouTube|hvaVfqTIxe4|"The Closer I Get to You"}}|header=Audio video}}

}}

Luther Vandross and Beyoncé's 2003 cover version of the song appeared on both Vandross's final album Dance with My Father and Beyoncé's solo debut Dangerously in Love (both 2003 respectively). Their version was recorded at The Hit Factory and the Right Track Studios, in New York City. It follows a tempo of 98 beats per minute, slightly faster than the original version. The track was included on the soundtrack of the brazilian telenovela Celebridade. It is set in the key of E-flat major, and follows the chord progression G_m7–C_m7–E{{music|flat}}_maj9–A{{music|flat}}.{{cite web|title=The Closer I Get to You sheet music (Digital Download)|date=14 June 2004|publisher=Musicnotes.com. Scarab Publishing Corporation|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0047091|access-date=25 August 2013|archive-date=16 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816051139/http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0047091|url-status=live}} It was serviced to US urban contemporary and urban adult contemporary radio on June 13, 2004.{{cite web | url=http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=06/13/2004&Format=5 | title=R&R Going for Adds: Urban | date=June 13, 2004 | work=Radio & Records | access-date=August 23, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219074112/http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=06%2F13%2F2004&Format=5 | archive-date=February 19, 2014 | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url=http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=06/13/2004&Format=12 | title=R&R Going for Adds: Urban | date=June 13, 2004 | work=Radio & Records | access-date=August 23, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822223907/http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=06%2F13%2F2004&Format=12 | archive-date=August 22, 2013 | url-status=dead }}

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the song "dated" and wrote that it felt out of place on Dangerously in Love.{{cite web |author=Cinquemani, Sal |title=Beyoncé Dangerously in Love |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/beyonce-dangerously-in-love/295 |publisher=Slant Magazine |date=June 21, 2003 |access-date=March 5, 2011 |archive-date=June 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618031326/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/beyonce-dangerously-in-love/295 |url-status=live }} Erika Ramirez of Billboard magazine also noted that "While the singer holds her own alongside the legend, the quiet storm duet feels out of place considering the electrifying feel of majority of the album."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1568019/beyonce-dangerously-in-love-classic-track-by-track-review|title=Beyonce, 'Dangerously In Love': Classic Track-By-Track Review|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|first=Erika|last=Ramirez|date=June 22, 2013|access-date=June 26, 2013|archive-date=June 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626065141/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/1568019/beyonce-dangerously-in-love-classic-track-by-track-review|url-status=live}} Neil Drumming of Entertainment Weekly said: "A remake of 'The Closer I Get to You' with Luther Vandross also sounds, sadly, a little dated."{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/06/27/dangerously-love/|title=Dangerously in Love (2003)|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|author=Drumming, Neil|publisher=Time Inc|access-date=March 5, 2011|date=June 27, 2003|archive-date=August 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813005218/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,459850,00.html|url-status=live}} Spence D. of IGN commented "By the time Beyoncé has teamed up with the granddaddy of contemporary love jams, Luthor Vandross, on 'The Closer I Get To You', her album has descended into somewhat generic terrain. Sure, her vocals are on point and the music is adequately slick."{{cite web|access-date=March 5, 2011|url=http://music.ign.com/articles/436/436601p1.html|title=Dangerously In Love - Beyoncé's solo debut is a mixed bag of contemporary R&B|publisher=IGN. News Corporation|date=September 3, 2003|author=D., Spence|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225044422/http://music.ign.com/articles/436/436601p1.html|archive-date=February 25, 2012}} Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone wrote, "While she oozes charisma and has a fine voice, Beyoncé isn't in a class with the likes of Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey as a singer, a fact that 'The Closer I Get to You', her duet with the effortlessly smooth Luther Vandross, also makes clear."{{cite magazine |last=DeCurtis |first=Anthony |title=Album Reviews: Dangerously in Love |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7733/38096 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121216103537/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7733/38096 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 16, 2012 |magazine=Rolling Stone |publisher=Wenner Media |access-date=March 5, 2011 |date=July 10, 2003}}

Jason King of Vibe magazine wrote that Beyoncé had some "{{Lang|es|cojones}}" to follow up a Jay-Z duet with a Luther Vandross duet on the album's track-listing.{{cite magazine |title=Beyoncé - Dangerously in Love (Columbia)|first=Jason|last=King|magazine=Vibe|publisher=Vibe Media |date=August 2003|issn=1070-4701|page=150}} Rob Fitzpatrick of NME stated that "it's the irredeemably cheesy ballad with 80s cornball Luther Vandross that will make the voices in your head demand hot, fresh blood."{{cite web|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/beyonce/7130|title=Album Reviews - Beyonce : Dangerously In Love|work=NME|publisher=IPC Media|first=Rob|last=Fitzpatrick|date=July 2, 2003|access-date=August 9, 2011|archive-date=September 12, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140912183858/http://www.nme.com/reviews//7130|url-status=live}} By contrast, Lewis Dene of BBC gave the song a positive review, stating that it is guaranteed the number one slot on the US R&B charts.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/p3vr |title=Music - Review of Beyoncé - Dangerously In Love |publisher=BBC Online. BBC |access-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-date=November 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130020829/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/p3vr |url-status=live }} Consequence of Sound{{Apostrophe}}s Chris Coplan noted that the song contained "unintentional cheesy vibe, [which] seems way more heart-wrenching now [in 2013] than it did a decade ago" and added that Beyoncé's vocals contained a "real sweetness and innocence".{{cite web|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/06/dusting-em-off-beyonce-dangerously-in-love/|title=Dusting 'Em Off: Beyoncé – Dangerously in Love|publisher=Consequence of Sound|first1=Chris|last1=Coplan|first2=Chris|last2=Bosman|date=June 22, 2013|access-date=June 26, 2013|archive-date=June 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630091349/http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/06/dusting-em-off-beyonce-dangerously-in-love/|url-status=live}} Pamelia S. Phillips, the author of Singing for Dummies, credited Beyoncé's vocal performance on "The Closer I Get to You" as one of her best.{{cite book|title=Singing For Dummies|first=Pamelia S. |last=Phillips |year=2010 |volume=2 |isbn=978-0470640203|page=284|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }} Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters gave Beyoncé and Vandross "vocal props" for their performance in the "quiet storm", but described the overall performance as flat.{{cite web |last=Anthony |first=Mark |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/beyonce-dangerously |title=Beyoncé: Dangerously in Love |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805065324/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/beyonce-dangerously |url-status=live }} During the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, this version of "The Closer I Get to You" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484884/beyonce-wins-most-50-shut-out-at-grammys.jhtml |title=Beyonce Wins Most, Outkast Shine, 50 Cent Shut Out At Grammys |publisher=MTV News (Viacom) |date=February 9, 2004 |author=Joseph Patel |access-date=March 5, 2011 |archive-date=February 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210070137/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484884/beyonce-wins-most-50-shut-out-at-grammys.jhtml |url-status=dead }}

Beyoncé and Vandross' cover of "The Closer I Get to You" debuted at number 76 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart dated July 24, 2004. The next week it moved up to number 68,{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media |issn=0006-2510 |date=July 31, 2004 |page=27 |volume=116 |issue=31}} and on August 7 it peaked at number 62.{{cite magazine| title=Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media |issn=0006-2510 |date=August 7, 2004 |page=15 |volume=116 |issue=32}} The track spent a total of twenty weeks on the chart.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/308632/luther-vandross/chart?f=367|title=Luther Vandross|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=August 16, 2013|archive-date=September 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918055755/https://www.billboard.com/artist/308632/luther-vandross/chart?f=367|url-status=live}} On the airplay component of this chart, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, "The Closer I Get to You" spent eight weeks and reached a peak of number 60.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/308632/luther-vandross/chart?f=364|title=Luther Vandross|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|access-date=August 16, 2013|archive-date=September 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918123559/https://www.billboard.com/artist/308632/luther-vandross/chart?f=364|url-status=live}}

• US promotional CD single{{cite web |url=http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=326185&curr=USD |title=Beyonce Knowles The Closer I Get To You USA Promo CD single (CD5 / 5") (326185) |publisher=eil.com |access-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-date=April 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013039/http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=326185&curr=USD |url-status=live }}

1. "The Closer I Get to You" (radio edit) – 4:26
2. "The Closer I Get to You" (instrumental) – 6:28
3. "The Closer I Get to You" (call out hook) – 0:10

Credits taken from Dangerously in Love liner notes.{{cite AV media notes |title=Dangerously in Love |publisher=Sony Music BMG Entertainment |year=2003}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Lead Vocals: B. Knowles, L. Vandross
• Background Vocals: Cissy Houston, Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King, Candace Thomas
• Writing: J. Mtume, R. Lucas
• Recording: Stan Wallace
• Vocal engineer: Nat Adderley Jr., Skip Anderson
• Mix engineer: Ray Bardani
• Drums: Ivan Hampden Jr.
• Bass: Byron Miller

{{col-2}}

• Guitars: Phil Hamilton
• Percussion: Bashiri Johnson
• Electric piano: Nat Adderley Jr.
• Sound programing and additional keyboards: Skip Anderson
• Strings: Al Brown
• String Arrangement: Nat Adderley Jr.
• Concert Master: Sanford Allen
• Producing: Nat Adderley Jr.

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United States|artist=Beyoncé & Luther Vandross|title=The Closer I Get To You|award=Gold|relyear=2022|certyear=2024|access-date=December 17, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

"The Closer I Get To You" has been covered many times. Among the more notable versions are the following:

In 1990, Toshinobu Kubota and Lynn Davis performed a live duet rendition of the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnl9NXBhGs| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308082430/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnnl9NXBhGs| archive-date=2016-03-08 | url-status=dead|title=久保田利伸&Lynn Davis～THE CLOSER I GET TO YOU～|publisher=Youtube|access-date=November 17, 2013}}

Fourplay's cover of the song was described as an "undistinguished version" of the original song by AllMusic's Steven McDonald.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/elixir-mw0000645249|title=Elixir - Fourplay|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|access-date=July 5, 2012|archive-date=June 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616095524/http://www.allmusic.com/album/elixir-mw0000645249|url-status=live}}

In 2005, Nina Girado covered the song with Thor for her album live album Nina Live!.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QBANUO|title=Live: Nina: MP3 Downloads|publisher=Amazon.com. Amazon Inc|access-date=September 13, 2011|archive-date=February 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219110136/https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QBANUO|url-status=live}} A writer of The Philippine Star noted that Thor "matches Nina note for note on their duet".{{cite magazine|title=Reader a victim of 'idea piracy'|magazine=The Philippine Star|publisher=PhilStar Daily, Inc|page=32|volume=20|number=97|date=March 15, 2005}} Girado's version of the song won in the category for Best Duet Award at the Awit Awards in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.mb.com.ph/node/80696|title=Something different from Nina|work=Manila Bulletin|publisher=Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp|date=June 24, 2006|access-date=July 5, 2012}}

It was covered by Filipino acoustic band MYMP on their 2005 album Versions, with lyrics separately sung by Chin Alcantara and Juris Fernandez.{{cite web|url=http://www.mb.com.ph/node/115129|title=MYMP shifts gear with three new CDs|work=Manila Bulletin|publisher=Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp|first=Kaye|last=Villagomez|date=March 6, 2005|access-date=July 8, 2012}}

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1978
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1978 (U.S.)

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{YouTube|kgZOKpDoIs0|Listen to "The Closer I Get to You"}}

{{Roberta Flack}}

{{Donny Hathaway}}

{{Beyoncé songs}}

{{Luther Vandross}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Closer I Get to You, The}}

Category:1970s ballads

Category:1978 singles

Category:2003 singles

Category:Roberta Flack songs

Category:Donny Hathaway songs

Category:Beyoncé songs

Category:Luther Vandross songs

Category:Songs written by Reggie Lucas

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Male–female vocal duets

Category:Pop ballads

Category:Rhythm and blues ballads

Category:Soul ballads

Category:1977 songs

Category:Songs written by James Mtume

Category:Atlantic Records singles