"Show Me" by The Cover Girls

Song#:  3039
Date:  02/28/1987
Debut:  89
Peak:  44
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Dance-Pop, Latin Freestyle



Pop Bits:  This NYC female vocal trio was formed by producer/songwriter Andy "Panda" Tripoli along with dance club and record label owner Sal Abbatiello. With dance-oriented female vocal groups on the rise and finding success, the pair thought they could create their own. They hired on Caroline Jackson, Sunshine Wright, and Louise "Angel" Sabater. The trio's first effort was this track that was released as a 12" single on Abbatiello's Fever Records late in '86. It began to get attention and was soon climbing the Dance chart. Sensing that interest was growing, Fever quickly created a 7" single and started to promote it at radio. A week before the song peaked at #4 on the Dance chart, it debuted on the Pop chart. The indie release slowly caught on in various markets and it eventually peaked just outside the Top 40. However, it stayed on the chart for a lengthy eighteen weeks, which was something normally reserved for Top 10's and #1's. The trio went back into the studio to record a self-titled debut album that would be released later in '87.

ReduxReview:  Had this record been released and promoted by a major label, chances are it would have done much better on the Pop chart. Possibly even Top 10. However, since it was on an indie label with limited funds and connections, it got exposure in various cities at different times and that kept it lower on the chart while remaining on it for a long time. For me, the song didn't make that much of an impression. The vocals were not great. They were high-pitched and thin. Compared to voices in other female vocal groups at the time (several of which had very good vocalists), these three nearly sounded like teen girls at karaoke. The song itself was good, but I didn't find it very catchy. I think the draw here was the freestyle production, which was just beginning to hit the mainstream. It was lively and fun. You couldn't help but groove to it. Other than that, the song didn't impress me much.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Angel Sabater later married Carlos Clivillés, the brother of future C+C Music Factory member and hitmaker Robert Clivillés (note that Robert Clivillés and his C+C partner David Cole worked with The Cover Girls on their debut album). Sabater then went by Angel Clivillés. She left The Cover Girls in 1990 for a solo career. She finally got it kicked off with a non-charting single in 1998. The following year, her second single, "One More Chance," became a hit on the Dance chart getting to #7. She was then able to record a debut album titled Angel, which featured her next single, a remake of "Show Me." Her new cover would end up topping the Dance chart. The album didn't sell well and that pretty much ended her solo recording career.

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