"Jammin'" by Teena Marie

Song#:  2297
Date:  04/27/1985
Debut:  83
Peak:  81
Weeks:  3
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  Marie scored her biggest hit at Pop with "Lovergirl," the lead-off track from her sixth album Starchild. The #4 hit would also get to #9 R&B and #6 Dance. For a follow-up, this track was chosen. Unfortunately, it just didn't have the same appeal as the first single and it faltered at #45 at R&B while stalling near the bottom of the Pop chart. Still, "Lovergirl" was so strong of a crossover hit that it would help make the album Marie's second to go gold.

ReduxReview:  I understand why they chose this song for a follow-up. It had a similar feel and groove as "Lovergirl," however, it just wasn't as catchy as that hit and there was no way it was going to do as well. Even though it probably should have done a bit better on each chart, I don't think this should have been the next single. There were a couple of other contenders that were different from "Lovergirl" that might have caught on, yet even those were not going to capture the same audience as her signature hit. The album is very good, but it just didn't contain a second strong track for single contention.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  One song on the Starchild album, "We've Got to Stop (Meeting Like This)," was a duet between Marie and soul singer/musician Ronnie McNeir. McNeir signed his first record deal in 1966 when he was seventeen. Nothing much came from a single he recorded and it would take until 1972 for him to record a full album with RCA. For over a decade, McNeir would record for several labels and grab three low charting R&B singles. Although his solo career never fully took flight, his work with other artists kept him quite busy and he even grabbed a Grammy nomination in 1981 as part of the gospel band, the Rance Allen Group. He would become a member of The Four Tops later in 2005. Although McNeir was born in Alabama, he was raised in Pontiac, Michigan, and in 2017, the street McNeir grew up on was renamed for him.

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