"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, Agent Provocateur. The song hit number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States and is the group's biggest hit to date. It remains one of the band's best-known songs and most enduring radio hits, charting in the top 25 in 2000, 2001, and 2002 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart. "I Want to Know What Love Is" has continued to garner critical acclaim, and is listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine's greatest songs of all time at number 476 in 2004 and at number 479 in 2010. The song is also featured in a number of films. Song information "I Want to Know What Love Is" was the first single released from Foreigner's album Agent Provocateur (1984). It is credited to Mick Jones, although an uncredited portion (somewhere between 5% according to Jones and 35% according to Gramm) was contributed by Lou Gramm. It was produced by Jones and Alex Sadkin. The song features backing vocals from the New Jersey Mass Choir affiliated with the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday, and featured keyboard work by Thompson Twins frontman Tom Bailey. The choir also appears in the song's music video. According to Gramm, Jones was originally reluctant to let Gramm hear his initial rough version of the song. Gramm speculated that the song was emotional to Jones because it "represented things in his own life that he hadn't been able to resolve, and he wasn't too sure he wanted to have millions of people hear about it. Cash Box reviewed the single, calling it "a highly dramatic and ultimately very touching song which amply displays Foreigner’s musical talents and versatility." Cash Box specifically praised the band's performances, especially that of lead singer Gramm, who they said "delivers a moving and personal quality which captures the essence of the lyrics. Billboard said that the "dramatic mood piece grows out of quiet introspection into a full-blown production number with choir." "I Want to Know What Love Is" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on January 15, 1985, displacing Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", staying there for three weeks, and knocked Madonna's long-running "Like a Virgin" out of number