"Stay Awake" by Ronnie Laws

Song#:  0735
Date:  09/12/1981
Debut:  90
Peak:  60
Weeks:  9
Genre:  R&B, Smooth Jazz



Pop Bits:  Jazz/funk sax artist Laws got his first break doing a short stint with Earth, Wind & Fire early in their career before their hits began. By 1975 he signed with Blue Note and issued his debut solo disc "Pressure Sensitive." His albums with Blue Note were instrumentals but when he moved to United Artists with his fourth album in 1978, he began to add lead vocals to some of his songs. One of his vocal tunes was this single from his album "Solid Ground." It reached #19 at R&B and spent a couple of months on the pop chart. Although it would be his only solo single on the pop chart, he reached the R&B chart with ten singles, the best being the #12 "Every Generation" in 1980.

ReduxReview:  I was a little surprised by this one. It's really a good tune with a nice arrangement and it kind of stands out against some of the snoozer R&B ballads that were coming out around this time. I don't think it screams Top 10, but it should have received more attention and at least gotten close to the Top 20.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Laws was already on the pop chart when this single debuted. Although not credited, Laws supplied the male vocal part for his sister Debra's single "Very Special" (#90).

_________________________________________________________________________________