49ers are an Italian Italo House and Eurodance act featuring producer and DJ Gianfranco Bortolotti and vocalist Dawn Mitchell. They had a number of hits on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, including "Touch Me" and "Don't You Love Me", both of which hit number one in 1990. 49ers exemplified two characteristics of Italo House: the taking of lyrical hooks from other compositions and the off-kilter approach to English grammar and narrative. The couplets that often form the choruses of Italo House records usually make sense in a roughly impressionistic manner (if at all). "Touch Me" was based on an Aretha Franklin sample ("Rock-a-Lott"). "Don't You Love Me", prominently featuring a vocal sample from Jody Watley's hit "Don't You Want Me", also entered the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to number 78. Other borrowed phrases and hooks are dispersed throughout the accompanying album, making for a type of "aural scavenger hunt" for the listener. Follow-up "Don't You Love Me" did not do as well, but made the Top 20, hitting #12 on the UK singles chart.
