Song#: 1745
Date: 01/07/1984
Debut: 83
Peak: 76
Weeks: 5
Genre: R&B, Quiet Storm
Pop Bits: Between 1977-80, this funk band was on a roll. They issued four consecutive gold albums that featured five Top 10 R&B hits including 1978's #1 "Ffun" (#23 Pop). But as the 80s rolled on, the hits became less frequent and the gold albums stopped. By 1987, the band decided to wrap things up and call it a day. But before then, they were able to enjoy three more R&B Top 10's including this single from their album Fever. It did well enough to get on the Pop chart for a few weeks, but it would be their last song to do so.
ReduxReview: It seems that the band was sticking with what they do best here, but trying to jazz it up a bit in 80s clothes. That's not necessarily bad, but with so much happening at the time, I don't think it was different enough. It worked well at R&B and they got a hit out of it, but their albums were not selling as well so it makes me think that folks were tiring of the band. What's weird is that an almost exact replica of this arrangement would work out well in a few years for singer Gregory Abbott. His 1987 #1 hit "Shake You Down" mimics this song pretty well, but it was almost considered retro R&B by that point (and it had a far better chorus).
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Band member Felton Pilate would later co-produce what would be the biggest selling rap/hip-hop album of its time. MC Hammer's 1990 album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em would hit the 10 million mark a little over a year after it was released. The album would be boosted by three songs that would hit the Top 10 on three charts (Pop, R&B, and Rap) and included his signature #1 R&B (#2 Rap, #8 Pop) hit "U Can't Touch This." Pilate would also help produce Hammer's follow-up LP Too Legit to Quit. Since that time, several other rap/hip-hop albums have either matched or exceeded the sales of Please Hammer.
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