Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2887 Date: 10/04/1986
Debut: 56
Peak: 9
Weeks: 18
Genre: Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: After the upbeat "Dancing on the Ceiling" topped out at #2, Richie stepped back into ballad mode with this follow-up single. The tune did well at Pop getting to #9 to become his twelfth consecutive Top 10 hit. It would accomplish the same feat at R&B reaching #2. AC also fell in line and in addition to being his twelfth Top 10 there, it was also his tenth #1 on the chart. The tune kept the album in the Top 10 after peaking at #1 for a couple of weeks at the end of September. While it wouldn't reach the dizzying heights of his 10+ million selling Can't Slow Down, it would do well selling over 4 million copies.
ReduxReview: By this point I had jumped off the Lionel Richie bandwagon. His last couple of hits made me lose interest and I thought the magic he generated in his earlier hits was gone. This single didn't necessarily change my mind, but at least it was a pleasant listen. It's a far more relaxed effort and it floats along easily. Was it a great song or single? No. But I'd rather hear this anytime over the dreck of "Say You, Say Me."
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: The female vocal on this track was performed by Marva King. The singer from Flint, Michigan, got work as a backing vocalist before signing a solo deal with Richard Perry's Planet Records - home to The Pointer Sisters. Perry produced King's debut solo album, 1981's Feels Right. None of the LP's singles charted and that ended King's contract. However, her career as a backing vocalist continued including her work on this song. In 1988, King would issue out an indie single titled "Back Up" that got to #42 at R&B, but it didn't lead to another recording contract. In 1990, a song she co-wrote titled "Innocent" was recorded by the R&B group The Whispers. The song would serve as the LP's first single and it would reach #3 R&B/#55 Pop. In 1997, she would become a member of Prince's New Power Generation band and tour with them along with appearing on the 1998 album Newpower Soul. In addition to working for artists like Phil Collins, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Anita Baker, and many others, King would record a few indie solo albums.
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