Con Funk Shun, Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love) | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 106th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)” by Con Funk Shun.  

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 106^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)” performed by Con Funk Shun.

Does the R&B and funk band Con Funk Shun get enough love? No, but the group, featuring the talents of Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate, released a marvelous catalog of music. Among their best songs is “Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)”, which arrived in the later part of the prime of their career. “Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)” is the third track from their 1983 album, Fever. Cedric Martin and Van Ross Redding wrote it, while Deodato is consistently listed as a producer.  Others credited as producers include the band, Clarence Scarborough, and sometimes, Ron Capone and Maurice Starr. Deodato and company excelled behind the boards, PERIOD. While not a massive pop hit for the collective, “Hooked” peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was more successful on the R&B charts, where it peaked at number five. 

“Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)” exemplifies the 1980s refined, smooth, and more electronic-leaning R&B sound.  The groove is sickening.  The keyboards and programming add a sleekness, adapting and modernizing Con Funk Shun’s sound (not that they needed to). The robust bass line and guitar accompaniment are both S-W-double E-T.  Throw in strings, and the ambience of the musical backdrop is ‘to die for.’ The vocals are ‘to die for’ as well, particularly the masterful falsetto by Felton Pilate.  When the collective sings, well, collectively, the results are sweet, romantic-sounding, and incredibly warm. The chorus is the centerpiece: 

“Baby, I’m hooked right into your love
Are you ready for mine?
Look what I got
Good loving so hot.”

Beyond the chorus, the other sections are sensational, too, capturing L-O-V-E superbly: “Ooh, there are no words that / Can express the way I feel now / And I want you to know.” There is also the pre-chorus or bridge (of sorts), where the need is emphasized: “I need you (I need you) / In my life (In my life) / I need you baby.” Word! “Baby I’m Hooked (Right Into Your Love)” marked the collective’s last significant pop hit of the ‘80s. It is an enduring one.  High-flying vocals, memorable theme and lyrics, and well-rounded, classy production make this a surefire winner.