"All of Me for All of You" by 9.9

Song#:  2432
Date:  08/24/1985
Debut:  85
Peak:  51
Weeks:  13
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  This female vocal trio made up of high school friends began performing on the streets of Boston and surrounding areas. Their act moved into the clubs along with doing background vocals for other acts including soul star Richard "Dimples" Fields. Thanks to their work with Fields, the trio got signed to RCA Records. Their self-titled debut album would be produced by Fields, who would also co-write most of the songs including this first single. It would be a hit at R&B getting to #5 and that helped the song cross over to the Pop chart where it just missed out on the Top 50. A second single, "I Like the Way You Dance," would get to #30 R&B, but fail to make the Pop chart. They seemed to be on their way, but by '87 they would split due to tensions within the group and with their label.

ReduxReview:  Talk about day-glo 80s - check out the video for this song! It's pretty fab as is this obscure track. The hook is solid and the vocals are quite excellent, especially when lead singer Margo Thunder gets revved up near the end. This song was an R&B hit, but it should have done better at Pop. I think this group was just slightly ahead of their time. In a couple of years there would be a slew of female vocal groups having hits in the same vein as this song. Had 9.9 come along later in the 80s, I think this track would have easily been a Top 20 hit at Pop, if not Top 10.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  One member of the trio, Margo Thunder, had a shot at a music career in her early teens. Following a win at the famous amateur night at the Apollo Theater, she got signed to the Capitol Records subsidiary label Haven. She recorded two singles, which both reached the R&B chart. Her best effort was 1975's "Expressway to Your Heart," which got to #25. Yet despite some promising results, Capitol dropped her. Next up was her stint in 9.9 and two more R&B charters. After that group folded, Thunder would join a new trio named Lady Soul. They were able to record a song for the soundtrack to the 1992 hit movie Sister Act titled "If My Sister's in Trouble." That led to a debut album produced by Maurice Starr that featured the #77 R&B single "Don't Forget About Me." Unfortunately third time wasn't the charm for Thunder and with the tepid results posted by Lady Soul, the trio split. Thunder would continue to work in the music biz and would release an indie solo debut album in 2011 titled R&B 101.

_________________________________________________________________________________