"The Borderlines" by Jeffrey Osborne

Song#:  2182
Date:  01/19/1985
Debut:  78
Peak:  38
Weeks:  11
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  Osborne certainly was making strides at R&B where over the course of two years he gathered six Top 10 hits. He added to that total when this second single from his LP Don't Stop reached #7. However, Osborne's chart history at Pop was a bit different. His singles would stay just on the fringes of the Pop Top 40 and have difficulty breaking into the upper reaches of the chart. This song would be his fifth entry to get inside the Top 40 mark, but like most of his previous entries it would stall soon after. He'd finally break through on a bigger scale with a single from his next album.

ReduxReview:  Osborne had some solid material to work with, but for some reason Pop audiences and radio didn't fully warm up to his brand of contemporary R&B. His tunes definitely had a Pop/AC slant to them, yet the singles failed to fully catch fire. Here is another one that stopped a bit too short at Pop. The punchy chorus with its synthpad sweeps sounded pretty new-wavy progressive for the time and the guitar gives it a little bit of a rock sheen. I wouldn't consider it strong enough to reach the Top 10, but it certainly should have done better than a minor #38.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  In 1985, Osborne boosted his profile by appearing as himself in a soap opera. One of the characters of the show Santa Barbara was a fan of Osborne, so for her wedding it was arranged for Osborne to appear and sing. He performed two songs for the wedding, "The Greatest Love Affair" and "On the Wings of Love." Later, he appeared at the reception singing "The Borderlines."

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