"Stay with Me Tonight" by Jeffrey Osborne

Song#:  1649
Date:  10/15/1983
Debut:  89
Peak:  30
Weeks:  21
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  Osborne's second solo LP, Stay with Me Tonight, got off to a great start with "Don't You Get So Mad" hitting #3 at R&B. The song also became his best Pop chart showing thus far reaching #25. This second title-track single, written by Chic's keyboardist Raymond Jones, continued Osborne's hot streak by topping out at #4 R&B. It also became this third Pop Top 30 entry. The album would be his second to hit #3 at R&B (#25 Pop) and his first to be certified at gold level.

ReduxReview:  Osborne was beginning to grab some good material for his albums and this song is one of his best. I'm actually surprised this stalled on the Pop chart at #30. It's a terrific pop/R&B tune with an excellent 80s arrangement. With Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson clearing the way for more R&B to do well on the Pop chart, I thought this would surely be Osborne's breakthrough Top 10 hit. Alas, it was not. Nice guitar work from Paul Jackson, Jr. as well. Very tasty.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  The Stay with Me Tonight LP would contain a third R&B Top 10 hit. "Plane Love" would get enough airplay to reach #10 on the chart. Unfortunately, it did not make it to the Pop chart. The song was written by Hawk Wolinski, a member of the famous R&B band Rufus. At the time, another one of his songs was riding high on the charts. "Ain't Nobody," by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan made it to the top of the R&B chart while reaching #22 at Pop.

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