#1 Alert!
Song#: 2699 Date: 04/19/1986
Debut: 61
Peak: 1 (1 week)
Weeks: 21
Genre: Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Ocean scored his fourth Top 10 hit with "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," the lead single from his sixth album Love Zone. The song also served as the theme for the hit film The Jewel of the Nile. To follow it up, Ocean went into ballad mode and released this track from the LP. It would end up hitting a chart trifecta reaching #1 at Pop, R&B, and AC. The dual hits would help made the album Ocean's second double-platinum in a row.
ReduxReview: This really was the perfect follow-up to the rambunctious "When the Going Gets Tough." It hit the right tone and emotional level to draw in a wide swath of listeners. It also had a good chorus and Ocean sold it very well. It's a solid tune, but it's one that I can take or leave. I was never bowled over by it, yet I didn't mind hearing it either. Back in the day it certainly had a lot of people swayin' back-n-forth remembering those sad songs that made them cry.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Many artists begin their careers with small labels or as studio/demo singers. Ocean did both when he began and even had singles issued out under various names. He became a bit of a go-to guy for songwriter/producer Ben Findon in the early 70s. Ocean provided vocals for several of Findon's songs and even co-wrote a few with him. Some got issued out as singles, but nothing much came from them. Findon would then produce Ocean's self-titled debut album in 1976 after he was signed to GTO Records. The LP would produce the hit single "Love Really Hurts Without You" (#2 UK, #22 US Pop). But it wouldn't be until 1984's worldwide #1 "Caribbean Queen" that Ocean's career really took off. By that point, Ocean had long since moved on from working with Findon, but as what usually happens when someone hits the big time, folks grab whatever scraps they can in order to make a buck. That's what happened to Ocean in '86. Someone was able to cull his old work with Findon and make it into an album. It was released in various countries under different titles. In the US, the album was called Emotions in Motion. In other countries it was titled The Early Years. The album included songs Ocean sang for Findon including one titled "On the Run." That song was originally released as a single in 1974 under the name Scorched Earth. For the new compilation, Ocean's vocal was kept and a new "Caribbean Queen"-ish remix arrangement was created. It was issued as a single, but it went nowhere. Other songs were spruced up to give the old tunes a new sheen. One of the tracks doesn't even featured Ocean on lead vocals. "Black As He's Painted" was a song done by The Adlibs with a little assist from Ocean. While some of these projects state that they are something for the artist's fans, in reality they are just cash-in projects.
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