"Oh, People" by Patti LaBelle

Song#:  2798
Date:  07/19/1986
Debut:  88
Peak:  29
Weeks:  12
Genre:  Pop, R&B



Pop Bits:  LaBelle scored the biggest hit of her solo career with the #1 Pop/#1 R&B "On My Own," a duet with Michael McDonald. The smash would drive her album, Winner in You, to #1 as well and it would become a platinum seller. To keep things rolling, this second single was issued out from the LP. The song did well at R&B getting to #7 becoming her seventh solo Top 10 on that chart. However, the tune didn't do quite as well at Pop and it stalled just inside the Top 30. Unfortunately, it would be LaBelle's last record to get inside the top half of the Pop chart.

ReduxReview:  This was a pleasant, easy going mid-tempo song with a nice message, but I found it a bit boring. It was the album's opening track and as such it was fine, but I didn't think it was single material. The chorus is not all that memorable and it just kind of blends in with the verse instead of standing out on its own. The bright spot of course is LaBelle's vocals. She definitely tries her best to make something out of nothing and she comes out a winner. However, the song does not. I'm assuming the label didn't release the upbeat dance track "Something Special" as the second single because it was going to be used in a movie at the beginning of '87, but I think that song would have done better as a follow-up to "On My Own" than this one.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Two more singles would be issued out from LaBelle's album, but neither would reach the Pop chart. However they would do well on other charts. The third single, "Kiss Away the Pain," would do well at R&B getting to #13. A fourth single, "Something Special (Is Gonna Happen Tonight)," would get to #10 on the Dance chart while making a small impression at R&B (#50). That song gained a little attention due to its appearance in two films. It was actually considered the theme song to the hit 1987 comedy Outrageous Fortune, which starred Bette Midler and Shelley Long. It also could be heard in the 1986 Alan Alda comedy Sweet Liberty.

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