Song#: 4030
Date: 09/09/1989
Debut: 77
Peak: 49
Weeks: 18
Genre: R&B, New Jack Swing
Pop Bits: This Bronx-born singer/songwriter with a deep soulful voice impressed the folks at Geffen Records enough to sign him on. Williams would get paired up with several producers and tracks would be recorded for his debut album Adventures in Paradise. This first single would be issued out and it would do well at R&B getting to #4 while also making it to #18 Dance. That action helped the song cross over to the Pop chart where it peaked just inside the Top 50. A second single, "Promises, Promises," would earn him a second R&B Top 10 (#7). While the album would not reach the Pop Album chart, it did get to #23 at R&B.
ReduxReview: This was a good entry in the new jack genre. It had memorable hooks and a good arrangement. Williams sold it well and the song was able to crack the R&B Top 10. It should have done better at Pop. The tune was hooky and fun enough to make an impression, but for some reason it couldn't catch on in a bigger way.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) After the release of his debut album, Williams would branch out into acting. He would earn a role in the 1991 crime drama New Jack City. Both the film and its associated soundtrack album would do well. Williams would contribute the song "I'm Dreamin'" to the album. Released as a single, it would get to #1 at R&B (#89 Pop). Boosted by the hit and the success of the film, the soundtrack would get to #1 R&B/#2 Pop and would be a platinum seller. Williams would pick up with his solo career in '92 with his second album Changes. It featured one last R&B Top 10 hit (#75 Pop) with "Every Little Thing U Do." A third album in '95 wouldn't do as well and so Williams moved on to other projects including more film and TV work. 2) Music was somewhat in Williams' blood as his aunt was legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. Anointed "The First Lady of Song," Fitzgerald's career kicked off when she won the famous Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in 1934 when she was seventeen. Work would quickly follow with various bands and orchestras and songs she fronted began hitting the charts in 1936. The following year she would hit #1 with what would become one of her signature songs "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Many more pre-rock era hits would follow. Yet she was able to score one more major hit after the rock era began. In 1960, she would get to #27 Pop/#6 R&B with her rendition of "Mack the Knife." Fitzgerald would win thirteen Grammys and would be known as one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time.
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