"Sayin' Sorry (Don't Make It Right)" by Denise Lopez

Song#:  3542

Date:  06/11/1988

Debut:  96

Peak:  31

Weeks:  17

Genre:  Latin Freestyle, Dance-Pop

Pop Bits:  This singer from Queens, New York, had her sights set on making it in the music business and her first attempt came in 1984. She recorded the dance track"Best of Me" under the moniker Neecy Dee, which was issued out on TNT Records. It didn't get anywhere, but it led to some work over on the 4th & B'way label where she co-wrote and did some vocals for a dance/rap track called "Love Patrol." It was sort of a "project" effort and was credited to Love Patrol. It also failed to generate much interest. Her next stop was at RCA where she recorded the single "If You Feel It" under her own name. The song got a little bit of attention and was able to reach #35 on the Dance chart. Apparently, that wasn't quite good enough for RCA and so Lopez moved over to A&M who gave her the opportunity to release this next single. It performed much better getting to #6 on the Dance chart. The action there helped the song cross over to Pop where it just missed out on the Top 30. A debut album titled Truth in Disguise would then be recorded and released in the fall of '88.

ReduxReview:  This has some good freestyle production that was similar to hits by Exposé. The song itself is pretty good with a nice chorus hook and it seems that Lopez had some good vocal chops, although she gets just a tad too excited or out of control at certain points. It was perfect for the dance floor at the time and I think its Pop peak was about right. It was a good listen and fun to dance to, but it just didn't have that extra special something that made it as memorable as some of the other freestyle hits of the day.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Being on A&M Records and having a Top 40 record gave Lopez gave her an extra opportunity. The label would be pushing out a soundtrack to the '88 holiday comedy flick Scrooged starring Bill Murray and they assigned the singer a job. She would be Dan Hartman's duet partner on a track he wrote for the film titled "The Love You Take." It would be the second single from the soundtrack released following the #9 remake of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart by Annie Lennox and Al Green. The Lopez/Hartman duet would not make any Billboard chart, but it did register at #75 on the Cashbox Pop chart. The Scrooged soundtrack would get to #93 on the strength of the Lennox/Green hit. The movie itself would receive mixed reviews and would do moderately well at the box office. It wasn't the holiday blockbuster that was predicted, but it has become a bit of a cult movie over the years.

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