"Ain't Nobody" is a song by American funk band Rufus and American singer Chaka Khan. It was released on November 4, 1983 by Warner Bros., as one of four studio tracks included on their live album, Stompin' at the Savoy (1983). "Ain't Nobody" quickly gathered popularity, and reached number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[1] In 1984 at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, "Ain't Nobody" won for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It has become one of Khan's signature songs.

Rufus keyboardist David "Hawk" Wolinski wrote the song around a repeating synthesizer loop backed by a Linn LM-1 drum computer; however, John "JR" Robinson, the band's drummer, played real drums for the recording session. The band held a democratic vote, and they decided to include the song in their album repertoire. Once the song was recorded, Warner executives wanted to issue another song as the album's first single.^{[citation needed]} Wolinski threatened to give the song to singer Michael Jackson and producer Quincy Jones for Jackson's album Thriller if the song was not the lead-off single. The label relented and "Ain't Nobody" was issued and hit number one on the R&B chart for the week ending October 15, 1983.^[2]

The song was included on the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Breakin'.^[3] In 2021, "Ain't Nobody" was ranked number 403 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[4] The song was adopted in the United Kingdom by fans of some of the country's football clubs, with the words: Ain't nobody loves (player), makes me happy, makes me feel this way.

The song is performed in the key of E♭ minor with a tempo of 104 beats per minute in common time. The bass synth intro however is in 9/8. Khan's vocals span from G♭₃ to E♭₅ in the song.^[5][6]

In 1994, British singer-songwriter Jaki Graham released her cover of "Ain't Nobody". It was released in July 1994 by various labels as the first and lead single from her fourth album, Real Life (1994). Graham's version was produced by Rod Gammons and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for five weeks^[21] as well as being in the Top 5 favourite videos for BET (Black Entertainment Charts). The single also reached number 44 in the UK, number 11 in Iceland^[22] and number 17 in Australia. The accompanying music video for "Ain't Nobody" was directed by American film director and producer Antoine Fuqua.^[23]

In 1995, Jamaican singer-songwriter Diana King recorded a cover single of "Ain't Nobody". It was released in October 1995 by Columbia and Work Group as the third single from her debut album, Tougher Than Love (1995). The song was produced by Handel Tucker and recorded in Bob Marley's recording studio Tuff Gong in Kingston, Jamaica.^[38] It peaked at number 95 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

Rapper LL Cool J recorded an interpolation of the song for the soundtrack to the 1996 film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, based on the adult animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. Released by Geffen Records as the soundtrack's second single, the song peaked at number 46 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot Rap Singles Chart and number 27 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Outside of the United States, the song topped the charts in the United Kingdom,^[64] where the song was also a hit for Gwen Dickey and KWS (reaching number 21),^{[citation needed]} and The Course (number eight).^[65]

In 2003, English-Irish pop group Liberty X released a version of the song titled "Being Nobody", produced by Richard X, as the lead single from Richard X's debut studio album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1 (2003), as well as the lead single from Liberty X's second studio album, Being Somebody (2003). The song is a pseudo-mashup, taking the lyrics of "Ain't Nobody" and placing them over an instrumental interpolation of the Human League's "Being Boiled". Additional elements from both songs were also used such as the recurring synth line from "Ain't Nobody" and the line "OK, ready? Let's do it." in the intro of the main mix are from the intro of "Being Boiled".

Liberty X first performed "Being Nobody" on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on February 8, 2003.^[90] They also performed it twice on Top of the Pops, with other performances on The National Lottery Wright Ticket and CD:UK before officially released on March 17, 2003. Shortly after that, the 2003 remastered version of the original 1983 hit "Ain't Nobody" was released in April of that year.

"It's a Biz (Ain't Nobody)" is a single by German hard dance band Scooter. It was released on March 23, 2012, as the fifth single from their fifteenth studio album, The Big Mash Up (2011).

In 2015, German music producer and DJ Felix Jaehn released a remix titled "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" featuring vocals by British singer Jasmine Thompson.^[114] It is the lead single for his eponymous 2016 debut EP, Felix Jaehn. The remix was based on a solo release of the song by Thompson in 2013, when Thompson was 13, which had peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the Felix Jaehn remix became a far bigger international chart success, peaking at number one or two in a number of European countries (including number two in the United Kingdom) as well as the top 10 in other European countries and Australia.^[115]

• List of Airplay 100 number ones of the 2010s
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1983 (U.S.)
• List of UK top 10 singles in 1984
• List of UK top 10 singles in 1989
• List of number-one dance singles of 1994 (U.S.)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of 1997
• List of UK top 10 singles in 2015
• Mashup (music)
• Of the Night – by Bastille
• Rhythm Is a Dancer
• The Rhythm of the Night