funky's journey through the 90s (again, again) (4 Viewers)

[VoR]

This is my favourite Jody Watley song. Such a SULTRY GEM

 

[alla]

Actually I’ve found that to be true for most of their hits in the US! Not necessarily high placing but they hung around a lot longer than their chart peak would suggest. A strange pattern. Almost like radio were still hesitant to embrace them fully (as with most hop-hop in the early 90s) but the endurance of their songs eventually won them over. Every time!

I think by the time of Very Necessary they had fully crossed over, but before then feels like a constant effort to prove themselves to the wider public.

I posted about this some weeks ago, it was a strange pattern, because that's usually the case of the ocassional crossover r&b hit that is slowly being add to top40 stations, but for them it was like almost every single. And they were never very successful in the r&b charts anyway, so as you said, it was like if they had to prove themselves all the time, because even after some reasonable hits, they were still being add to radio stations so damn slowly. In the end that wasn't a bad thing for them, because they spent 3 years in the charts with just a handful of hits.

 

[alla]

Discoveries:

Vanessa Williams, it turns out, is more than just a famous ballad. Most people in the UK would consider her a one hit wonder (does anyone really remember that Pocahontas song?) as nothing came close to "Save The Best For Last" in sales. But in the US the album The Comfort Zone produced 5 hit singles, including this title track:



Love this. There's other good tracks still to come from Vanessa, with 13 Top 100 hits so I'm looking forward to digging deeper.

I was aware of Vanessa Williams because of Dreamin', that I don't remember at all back then, but I knew she got a Grammy nomination and wanted to know more about that woman; and little else, pre internet it was very hard to find anything by artists that were not successful outside America.

I think by the time she released her big hit from The Comfort zone I already had the album, because I was obsessed with Running back to you. What a banger, what a colourful and cam as hell video.

Anyone know who this is?



Never heard of them (it appears to be a duo with the guy as the lead), but this is a gorgeous Babyface-style smooth groove. In fact a quick check and yes this is indeed a Babyface/LA Reid production. Success was so short lived that I can't find where this song peaked, but it was not a major hit. Still a wonderful deep cut find though.

Yes, I recognise the name from the Boomerang soundtrack that I got back then; there is a track sang by several artists that were signed to the brand new Babyface label. They sing here with, among others, TLC, and what I believe was the first thing recorded by Toni Braxton. Damian Dame were one of the first acts to be signed to his Laface label, if not the very first one.



I also remember their name from the r&b singles chart, they surely had some big hits there. Shame their career came to an abrupt end in the mid 90s, before it really took off; they both died.

 

[Sheena]

I do like Jody Watley but wasn’t a big fan or anything. The singles from the first album are all DYNAMITE, though.

 

[BoysForSeles]

I got into Jody a bit after the glory days but knew the singles of course, Midnight Lounge was the album I came in on but I’m expecting @funky to address When A Man Loves A Woman from ‘Intimacy’ when the year comes up.

 

[alla]

I want you was actually a big r&b hit, but I'm not suprised it didn't pick up on pop radio a song where she ends having an orgasm and cums loudly. Not very radio friendly and an odd choice for a first single in 1991. The follow up was a much bigger pop hit but it didn't do well on r&b radio.

 

[BoysForSeles]

However, I did acquire the whole early JW back catalogue via the much missed Secondspin.com, without the jewel cases OF COURSE.

 

[Joseph]

Sorry but this is not true she had SIX top ten in a row, I wonder how many artists could say that. Also several #1 dance and r&b. After 3-4 years her chart success started to fade like so many artists, but I think she actually had quite a run in the charts that many other artists can't even dream of.

Btw, her last big hit, coming up in early 92, also had a US radio edit not available anywhere, and it's completely different (and IMO much better) that the album version, which pissed me off. I absolutely love Jody's music.

I meant overall. She had a huge run from 87 to 89 in the US then fell off getting Billboard hits. She did better on the dance charts. Her UK and Australia charting is pretty awful except for “Looking For A New Love”

 

[alla]

I meant overall. She had a huge run from 87 to 89 in the US then fell off getting Billboard hits. She did better on the dance charts. Her UK and Australia charting is pretty awful except for “Looking For A New Love”

Well yes, I meant in the US, if we talk globally she wasn't that successful, not even close. But in America, 3 years having one top 10 after another and then falling off the charts is like other big starts of their time like Paula Abdul, Taylor Dayne and many others. I think that's quite good.

 

[alla]

Btw, I never understood how Jody won the Grammy for Best New Artist after a decade of hits with Shalamar. They were very strict with that back then, and many artists didn't qualify for that category because of the smallest thing. Rules relaxed years later (Lauryn Hill), but not even Whitney was elegible for best new artist because a duet, how did she do it?

 

[BoysForSeles]

I meant overall. She had a huge run from 87 to 89 in the US then fell off getting Billboard hits. She did better on the dance charts. Her UK and Australia charting is pretty awful except for “Looking For A New Love”

I could be entirely wrong but I can’t remember her being on any kids’ tv shows or any shows doing the usual promo in the UK required to have big hits, same with Taylor Dayne on album 2 but could have passed me by.

 

[alla]

Not sure what the deal is with "Instatiable" being released from Prince's Diamonds & Pearls album, given that the title track and third single was already storming up the charts on the heels of the former #1 "Creep". It was never released outside the US, and might have been a limited run? Nevertheless it was bound to chart, given that Prince was on a major return to form with the album.

Back in the day many r&b artists released singles just for the r&b market in the US, and most of them wouldn't make the Hot 100, or for big stars like Prince would make the low part of the chart, because they weren't sent to pop radio or the single sold outside r&b record stores. The r&b charts were faster that the Hot 100, so I can see someone someone as prolific as Prince would fit and extra single now and then. Also, sometimes an r&b song took months to crossover to pop, so they needed an extra single until a proper follow up. Example: Shanice is right now (december 91) climbing the Hot 100 with I love your smile, but she peaked on r&b charts (a deserved #1) weeks ago, so they released I'm cryin' for the r&b market to fill the gap. It went almost top 10 r&b but for top 40 radio that single never existed. (Which is a shame because is a great song, btw).



Sometimes r&b artists didn't bother with pop radio and released singles for the r&b market. Jody Watley did it several times, and even someone as big as Whitney Houston, the last 2 singles from I'm your baby tonight were sent only to r&b radio. But this is a different matter, yes.