"Just Be My Lady" by Larry Graham

Song#:  0732
Date:  09/05/1981
Debut:  79
Peak:  67
Weeks:  5
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  Graham started off the 80s with the beautiful hit "One in a Million You" (#9), but then had difficulty following it up. His fourth solo album, "Just Be My Lady," featured this lead single that still could not break him into the upper reaches of the chart. The single would go to #4 R&B, but it would be his last Top 10 on that chart and his final pop chart entry. He would issue three more solo albums before halting his solo career. Later in the 90s, he reformed his group Graham Central Station for a couple of live albums.

ReduxReview:  I'm sure the label wanted another hit along the lines of "One in a Million," so that is probably how this came about. Unfortunately, it doesn't come close to the quality of that song and it borders on an R&B dirge. As much as I like Graham's voice, he even sounds a bit bored here.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) Graham was friends with Prince and he played bass on several of Prince's later tours. When Graham decided to work up a new solo album (under the Graham Central Station moniker), he worked with Prince who co-produced the album and co-wrote one of the songs. "GCS 2000" came out in 1998, but with no chart singles the LP stalled at  #49 on the R&B album chart.  2) Graham is uncle to hip-hop star Drake, who's given name is Aubrey Drake Graham.

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