“I Want Her” is Keith Sweat’s first single ever, and a track that quickly solidified him into the R&B artist he is today.

Initially, Keith and co-producer Teddy Riley collaborated on this track because Sweat told Teddy that he didn’t have enough material for the album; it was Teddy’s suggestion that the two Harlem natives worked together. They ended up writing the lyrics over the phone while Keith was working his day job at the stock exchange, helping to ignite the making of a classic album in Make It Last Forever. The duo eventually penned 6 of the 8 tracks included on the album, including the single after which he named the album: “Make It Last Forever”.

On January 30, 1988, “I Want Her” became the first new jack swing hit to reach #1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop charts.