Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 3473
Date: 04/09/1988
Debut: 86
Peak: 7
Weeks: 21
Genre: R&B, New Jack Swing
Pop Bits: The music bug hit Albert Brown III early on. As a teen, he scrambled some equipment together and began recording music with his cousin Kyle West. While still in high school, Brown became friends with Eddie Ferrell, who was going by the name DJ Eddie F. Eddie was working with rapper Heavy D. at the time and after hearing Brown's music brought him along to the studio to meet Heavy D and his manager. They immediately put Brown to work. He sang on three tracks that would appear on the 1987 debut album by Heavy D. & the Boys. His work on the songs along with a push from Heavy D.'s management helped Brown secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records. With the stage name of Al B. Sure!, Brown began work on a solo album with West. The pair would co-write and co-produce the majority of the album that would be titled In Effect Mode. This first single was issued out and it certainly made a splash. The song reached the top of the R&B chart while cracking the Pop Top 10. It also got to #19 at AC. By the beginning of July, the album would also get to #1 at R&B. Eventually, it would make it to #20 Pop. This song would go on to earn Al B. Sure! a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.
ReduxReview: Al B. Sure! kind of brought romantic new jack swing to the masses with this sleek track. For a pair of newbies who were just getting their feet wet, Al and Kyle West truly hit the mark with this song. Apparently, it was the first track they recorded for the LP. What a way to kick things off! It was easy to hear that this was going to be a hit. That hip-swaying groove, indelible chorus, and Al's sensuous vocal made the tune ripe and ready for lots of radio airplay.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: In 1987, the Sony Corporation decided to hold a talent contest. It became part of the company's awards program and was called the Sony Innovator Talent Search. They acquired a judging panel of professionals that included famed producer/musician Quincy Jones. The contest was to be judged "blind" and over 50 unknown young artists participated including Al B. Sure! He would end up being the winner of the contest, but it is not clear what Sony gave him for the win. While Al would be the first to win the talent contest, it seems like he may also have been the last. No evidence exists that it turned into an annual event. Being selected as winner by Jones would later lead to Al working with the legend. In 1989, Al would contribute lead vocals to "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)," a track from Quincy Jones' album Back on the Block. Al would be one of four lead vocalists for the song. The others were El DeBarge, James Ingram, and Barry White. It would be released as a single in 1990 and would reach #1 at R&B (#31 Pop). It would also be a gold seller. The album would go on to win seven Grammys including Album of the Year.
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