What I Like About You

"What I Like About You" is a song by American rock band the Romantics. Written by band members Wally Palmar, Mike Skill and Jimmy Marinos in 1979, the song is included on the band's self-titled debut album (1980), and was also released as a single in late 1979. Marinos, the band's drummer, is the lead vocalist on the song. The band filmed a music video for the song that appeared frequently on MTV during the early 1980s. Covers of the song include Michael Morales' from 1989, Lillix's from 2003 that appeared on the Freaky Friday soundtrack, as well as in The WB comedy series What I Like About You, and 5 Seconds of Summer's for their 2014 self-titled debut album. Writing and original version "What I Like About You" was written by Palmar, Marinos and Skill around a guitar part by Skill. The song's "Hey, uh-huh-huh" refrain was influenced by the Yardbirds' "Over Under Sideways Down" and Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." The song's riff is slightly similar to Neil Diamond's "Cherry, Cherry", the Standells' 1966 hit "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White", and Joe Jackson's 1979 single "I'm the Man." The Romantics recorded the song and the accompanying album at Coconuts Recording Studio in Miami Beach, Florida. When first released, "What I Like About You" was already a popular song on the Romantics' concert playlist. However, in terms of record sales and radio airplay, the song was only a moderate success at the time of its release, reaching number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was most successful in Australia, where it reached number two on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) for two weeks and became the 13th most successful single for 1980. It was only towards the end of the 1980s, after the song had been licensed for use in television commercials for Budweiser beer, that "What I Like About You" grew to become one of the most popular rock anthems of all time. The video that was played on MTV was shot at the University of Michigan Dearborn's recreational center.