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

[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.

 

[funky]

I really really really need to go back and restart this doing the R&B charts when this is done I realise I’m only scratching the surface, but that’s ok as I will come back to it. I found that website that has all the chart scans from the magazines. Amazing. I just hope the deep cuts are still mostly on Spotify, I know some of them won’t be. The digital licensing of US deep cuts does seem to be sorted these days moreso than Europe - there are sadly still so many minor chart hits particularly in dance music that have yet to make it onto legal streaming.

 

[Joseph]

We’ve always had far too many charting systems in the states. We currently have over 100 different charts under Billboard alone (according to WIKIPEDIA)

 

[funky]

And into 1992 we go. Years have feelings for me in terms of music, because it was such a huge part of my youth. And my memories of 1992 were a return to pop music. Because pop music was BIG in 1992. Or at least it felt that way to me, and in the UK. The raw energy of the dance and rap scenes had given way to a more mainstream slant as the industry monetised the popularity of house and hip-hop, merging genres into a commercial dance hybrid that would dominate for several years. Rave and US garage was still present, and there was plenty to enjoy, but 1992 was definitely the end of dance music's underground movement - in its current form. Meanwhile, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Prince were all back in the public eye with new music, and acts like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Annie Lennox proved they were here to stay. 80s alternative acts like REM and U2 were now household names and ensuring that the 90s charts remained as versatile as the 80s had been.

But this is just the shop window of what was still a busy, exciting and diversifying period for popular music, and hindsight through an adult lens makes it easier to see the broader picture. Sub-genres like acid jazz and trip-hop were starting to solidify and are responsible for some of the most exciting and influential music to come out of Europe all decade. Rock music was going through a generational shift as the identity crisis brought on by the late 80s hair metal and soft rock saturation was causing big changes and a much needed shot in the arm with new sounds, new bands and big hope for its future.

But the big story for 1992 when you put it all in context is R&B. It wasn't going through the sort of upside-down changes that rock and dance music were, and its evolution was a much more subtle one. The rejection of the synthetic, electronic sounds of funk and post-disco in the late 80s had been replaced by New Jack (and Jill) swing, while other artists were selling gazillions of records by continuing to mine the successful pop-soul model. But New Jack always felt like a fad - it was too specific, had become ubiquitous and was hindered by its attachment to the previous decade. Something had to give. And so gradually, a smoother version of swing moved in, with new acts and a new attitude influenced by hip-hop samples and 70s soul. In the space of 12 months, acts like Boyz II Men, TLC, Mary J Blige, SWV, Jodeci and Toni Braxton joined in with other established peers such as En Vogue and Bobby Brown, to build a sound and movement led by exciting new record labels that would continue to grow, evolve and dominate for the next 15 years. And somewhere within all that, new strands of the genre were, for the first time, splintering off to create the beginnings of alternative R&B, with elements that would give rise to neo-soul and influence artists as far as today.

JANUARY 1992

#1s

	US​	UK​
Jan-4	Michael Jackson - Black Or White (5)	Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives (3)
Jan-11	Michael Jackson - Black Or White (6)	Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives (4)
Jan-18	Michael Jackson - Black Or White (7)	Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives (5)
Jan-25	Color Me Badd - All 4 Love (1)	Wet Wet Wet - Goodnight Girl (1)

Another dominating month for MJ, but the new chart methods were already starting to make an impact and spending more than a month at the top of the chart was now going to become quite normal. Slow ascents would also be commonplace, with Ce Ce Peniston's "Finally" peaking at #5 in its 18th week on the chart. Nirvana however were not prepared to wait around, rising to #8 after just 6 weeks - very impressive for a "debut" act, even moreso if that act is alternative rock. They would eventually peak at #6 in February. Just behind them, U2 climb to - and peak at - #9 with "Mysterious Ways", saving their Achtung Baby campaign after lead single "The Fly" stalled at #61. The UK disagreed with this take however, with those singles peaking at #13 and #1 respectively. MC Hammer (or Hammer as he was now known, not that anyone remembers him that way) was still doing big business in the US, with "Addams Groove" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" both hitting the Top 10 simultaneously.

Not a lot of things happening in the UK that's massively different and worth noting, so here's some dance tracks for the month:






Discoveries:

Amy Grant for me was someone who had 2 songs: "Baby Baby" and "Big Yellow Taxi". Both polarising, for good reasons, and I love them both. But this deep dive highlights that she had a phenomenal with 9th album Heart In Motion, including 4 US Top 10s. This was the fourth single and it's really quite good fun:



This went to #8 but stalled at #60 in the UK.

Well, I'm most confused. It turns out that Snap!'s big comeback in 1992 wasn't "Rhythm Is A Dancer". In fact, the lead single to their second album The Madman's Return was this:



Now I really like this - I have no memory of it, but it has a trippy sound and actually sounds quite ahead of its time as an electronic/rap/soul hybrid. I was also not a massive fan of "RIAD", with its very commercial eurodance sound. But even I can recognise that this was never going to be as big as that song. This feels like a teaser promo single in an era when those didn't really exist. It went to #54 in the UK and didn't chart in the US. The other song... well let's save that for later.

Speaking of early dance mega acts, Black Box were seemingly determined to spend a decade releasing every song from Dreamland...



I didn't own the album back in the day, so this is relatively new for me, and definitely new as a single. It was the 6th single from the album, and almost 3 years since "Ride On Time" first surfaced. It doesn't do anything new, and for that reason alone it's great. Martha Wash on vocals (I assume her name was added to re-pressings of the album) certainly helps! It only managed #48 in the UK, but they'd return in 1993 with a new album.

Here's a lovely slice of US Garage that passed me by...



Clubland were a British/Swedish collective but the music is much more American sounding, and as a result they became one of the few house acts that did better in the US than the UK. This didn't chart in the UK which is why I didn't know it, but it was a US Dance #1 and #79 on Pop. Steve Hurley does remix duties on the single and he's a name synonymous with early 90s house, and a sound that I think had a big influence on mid 90s acts such as Nightcrawlers, Robin S, Todd Terry and Livin' Joy.

Notable chart entries (US):

January 4

78 — STAY –•– Jodeci
90 — THE RUSH –•– Luther Vandross
93 — MARTIKA’S KITCHEN –•– Martika
94 — BREAKIN’ MY HEART (PRETTY BROWN EYES) –•– Mint Condition
97 — HOLD ON (TIGHTER TO LOVE) –•– Clubland

January 11

78 — BE TRUE TO YOURSELF –•– 2Nd II None
81 — PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) –•– Clivilles & Cole
92 — THERE’S NO OTHER WAY –•– Blur

January 18

65 — VIBEOLOGY –•– Paula Abdul
69 — GOOD FOR ME –•– Amy Grant
79 — PAPER DOLL –•– P.M. Dawn
88 — BEAUTY AND THE BEAST –•– Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson

January 25

53 — REMEMBER THE TIME –•– Michael Jackson
79 — MISSING YOU NOW –•– Michael Bolton
93 — STARS –•– Simply Red
98 — EVERLASTING LOVE –•– Tony Terry

A relatively quiet month for new music...

I have to say despite my love for 90s R&B, I've never really been a big fan of Jodeci. Just too much warbling. Most of their hits are downtempo or ballads and maybe there's some good upbeat bops to be found across their 4 albums, but I don't know them. If I was to go for bedroom R&B, the females do it much better.

Luther however knows how to do it. Despite being able to sing better than any boyband member, he keeps the vocals tight. This midtempo pop-soul number is worth checking out



Martika's sophomore album we've already talked about, but it is worth noting that Martika's kitchen is pretty good. It's a shame really that her star faded so quickly, and also rather surprising because the first album was huge and her two return singles (this and "Love Thy Will Be Done") are both GREAT.

I'm not sure why Clivilles & Cole chose to release "Pride" (a techno U2 cover!) under their names rather than the C&C Music Factory moniker, but maybe it's to distance this nonsense from the brilliant debut album. They would redeem themselves with another track very soon, as this was part of a double A side release and the other song ended up doing better.

I have to say, "Vibeology" is great. The vocals are crap, but it's a bop. This peaked at a relatively disappointing #16, but this would be much better than anything Paula Abdul could manage with the next album.

PM Dawn were not really able to capitalise on the world-conquering success of "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" with "Paper Doll", peaking at #28 (UK #49), but it is rather average. The album did very little after this, but fortunately for them a soundtrack cameo would save them and give them a second album, with some really interesting discoveries. More to come from them.

I actually LOVE that MJ song, and is definitely a highlight of the Dangerous album, but when you listen to it in the context of the sounds of 1992, it's really not that fresh! It sounds a LOT like many R&B songs of the time. Not forward thinking for a man that brought us the Thriller and Bad albums, both singular in sound and vision. Worth also mentioning that despite all of that, he even continued the style into the middle of the decade with History Part II. I'm not mad - both albums produced some major highs. And the songwriting was stellar. But by this point he was no longer really leading in pop innovation in the way he dominated the previous decade.

 

[alla]

For god's sake, I didn't finish with december 91 yet, how is this so fast now? (not a complain)

Decided to include this little known minor hit which I don't know and don't care for, but it's high camp freestyle and will find an audience here

In Paradise

Laissez Faire · Hands Off · Song · 2009

open.spotify.com

They're not on Wiki so I have no idea how successful this was - I'm guessing it was more of a club hit.

Oh yes, I have this on my ipod, like every single freestyle hit from those days. It actually went top 40! A total one hit wonder. I can't say I love it, but it's alright. An American guy I met that was very into freestyle back then told me this was quite a hit in Miami.

 

[alla]

Ok tomorrow I'll finish with 91, the Geto Boys incident and the influence (I think) it had in top 40 radio, and the much anticipated Amy Grant lesbian drama!

But before I go to bed I'll post something from January 92...

Btw, I always associate this song with another one, both one hit wonders and from the same time, and that other one is AMAZING; you're gonna love it in case you don't know it, which I suspect for several reasons.

In January 92 (I think, it could have been dec 91, but hey) this song made the top 40. I wonder if you know it @Joseph, because it wasn't a massive hit (peaked at #20something), a total one hit wonder, and they never bothered with a video, so probably very forgotten these days, but what a great song.

 

[old spice]

Nice summary for 1992, funky!

I approve of the stuff that's in the upper echelons for once: 'Finally', 'Mysterious Ways', '2 Legit 2 Quit'! 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is the best of them and it's weird to me that what's possibly the defining song of the decade made it to number six, but I suppose the album did all the business instead. 'The Fly' reaching #1 in the UK is presumably solely down to it being the lead single, 'Mysterious Ways' is the more obviously radio-friendly choice imo, even if it's a much inferior song. I'm expecting a career-defining hit off Achtung Baby soon.

There's a whole strain of US R&B that never really crossed over to the UK I think, or at least never had lasting enough impact to affect my youth. Jodeci are one such example, but I think Luther's another. He seems huge with like, every mum of every African-American friend I've ever had, but I couldn't even name you five of his songs. I've always found his voice a bit too polished and pristine for my tastes, but I feel like I should investigate more. 'The Rush' is pleasant enough, but I already can't remember how it goes and I was playing it just a few minutes ago. :/ Please advise.

'Martika's Kitchen' is fun - whatever happened to her?! - but I prefer Prince's own recording of 'Love Thy Will Be Done' (in fact, I probably enjoy it more than 'Diamonds and Pearls', oops). Those Snap, Black Box, and Clubland tracks were all enjoyable too.

Look at BLUR creeping in to the bottom of the charts there! Weird how a band who, for me, are very much representative of the decade as a whole, had very little impact in the States. I wonder if the British rock/indie scene and the US equivalent had ever diverged as much as they were doing at this point? I feel like my understanding and experience of 90s bands is vastly different from that of my American friends.

I eagerly await further details about this Geto Boys incident btw!

ETA: Is this a safe space to confess that I really like that Wet Wet Wet song?

 

[alla]

...and another one! This time it's the boys' turn:



This is a great example of New Jack morphing into hip-hop soul - still swing, but with a slightly smoother sound. I didn't think these songs were being produced as early as 1991, so it's interesting to hear the gradual shift. This went to #17 (UK #83) and a US R&B #1.

You have very good taste for r&b, what a great song. I only knew his 2 previous 90s hits, and I found out much later he had some big r&b hits in the 80s too. The peak of his career is still to come a few years later, but I prefer his early 90s stuff. Btw, this song was included in Barcelona Gold, the album for the 1992 Olympics, that had great music, including a #1 for Madonna later this year, and also an ANTHEM by a certain r&b group that wore tight clothing, but didn't mean they were prostitutes

It's slightly ironic that after the chat about the new chart methodology changeover in November will lead to more R&B and country filling the charts, that it's rock making the biggest dent on the charts in December.

To be fair, country (and latin) stations were added later in the decade to the Hot 100, so it wasn't as immediate as r&b, but yes, alternative rock is about to break in the US, I remember 1993 specially full of great alt rock songs.

90 — EVERYBODY MOVE –•– Cathy Dennis

Can we please notice that QoL Cathy Dennis charted a FIFTH single from her debut album? No wonder Billboard named her Best female artist of the year. This barely charted in the Hot 100 (went top 30 in UK IIRC), and if you've never seen the video, it's so ridiculous, so over the top and so BettyBooesque, it's fabulous.

 

[alla]

ETA: Is this a safe space to confess that I really like that Wet Wet Wet song?

A place full of Amy Grant fans is safe to confess anything.

 

[alla]

While I'm here, can I give a quick shout-out to one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time which I don't think has been brought up yet but which I believe is in the charts at this point in time:

This song was more relevant that you can imagine. I don't know if my head is ready right now to post about this in English, let's try.


Once upon a time, in the early 90s, top 40 radio was a happy and safe place. There were several top 40 countdown shows produced that were exported to other radio stations (not only top40/pop ones). You had the official Billboard one, hosted these days by Shadoe Stevens, who took over in 1988 from legendary dj Casey Casem, who had another countdown show now; and you had Rick Dees and several others. Those top 40 shows were aired all over the world. We had a Spanish station playing one every Saturday, also in the Army Forces radio all around the world, and of course they were sold to many US radio station, of different genre, including Christian radio stations. They were very popular in those pre-internet days.
Back then, the Hot 100 was full of songs with non problematic lyrics. Yes, you had now and then the odd hardcore rap song, but as it was ignored by top40 radio, they never troubled the top 40.
Yes, there was the ocassional drama with some songs, like a serious Casey Casem refusing to name the title of the first single from George Michael's Faith () or introduce 2 Live Crew's Me so horny, but they still played the songs. The only song that I can think of that caused some kind of drama in the early 90s was Digital Underground's The Humpty Dance, a #11 hit that was edited by some radio stations, and some others refused to play. But that was an exception, as most of the rap songs played on top40 radio were more fun that problematic, maybe a bit sassy but that's all. Those days they even went for radio edits including rap for many pop songs, some of them exclusively made for radio and not commercially released, as I said about CeCe P****ton's Finally, or Calloway's I wanna be rich, and more.

But then, by the end of 1991, Geto Boys's Mind playing tricks on me charted. Of course the song was totally ignored by pop radio, it never made the airplay chart, but it was a massive seller (peaked at #6 on the sales chart and went gold) and made the top 40 in the Hot 100 for about 10 weeks. And they had a problem, a song with the N word, with shit all over it, they simply were not ready for it. They never skipped songs in some of those top 40 countdowns, so the song was heavily edited, to an extent that I remember them playing mere seconds (Dind dong the witch is dead on Radio 1 anyone?). Stations refused to air the show, so the official one produced by Billboard, that since 1970 were playing weekly the Hot 100 Top 40, had no option to move to countdown to the Top 40 on radio, playing now the Top 40 hits on the airplay chart, a much safer place but it missed the point of presenting the biggest hits in the country. You're going to be shocked to know which MASSIVE hit missed the top 40 on airplay, in a still quite conservative radio. Check my next post to find out which one, you're not seeing it coming.

Anyway, the harm was done and radio stations started to drop the countdowns. In 1994, after 24 years, the broadcast of the Billboard countdown stopped airing in USA, it was played only overseas, and by the start of 1995 it was over.

And that's not all, and this more serious. Radio (well surely not all them, but many did) started editing out the rap part from as many (pop) songs as possible. They went from having exclusive edits with raps in 1990-91, to perceive rap as something terrible, or whatever, so between 92 and 95 removed the rap part from as many song as possible, some of those edits were not even official and were home made. Can you imagine songs like Snap's Rhythm is a dancer, Captain Hollywood Proyect's More and more or Culture Beat's Mr. Vain without the rap verses, than in some cases were the main part of the song? Well, they were being edited out, and replace for an instrumental part of the song. I remember listening More and more on American radio and it was almost an instrumental track Oh also 2 Unlimited's Get ready for this. It was just MADNESS.

 

[alla]

Nirvana however were not prepared to wait around, rising to #8 after just 6 weeks - very impressive for a "debut" act, even moreso if that act is alternative rock.

Back then, the way I used to keep up with music, and listen to songs that would be a hit months later in Europe, was listening to the top 40 countdown shows that played on American radio every weekend, the official Billboard chart. A chart that moved to airplay radio in late 91, but it was still a top 40 chart where you would expect to listen to the biggest hits. Well, they NEVER played Smells like teen spirits. Why?

Nirvana's single went to #1 on sales, with the video being played on MTV every 30 minutes, literally. A phenomenon. You would expect pop radio would pick up too, right? Well, I guess some radio stations played the song a lot, but the fact is that Smells like tten spirits peaked at #41 on airplay. Quite shocking how conservative top40 radio still was. That was about to change in no time, with the new methodology, and the door that Nirvana opened for lots of alternative groups that flooded the charts.


Coming next: Amy Grant's lesbian incident

 

[Ellie]

You may have built up the anticipation far too much on this

 

[alla]

I know, you're going to be so disappointed when she actually didn't lick pussy

 

[alla]

***ALERT: The Amy Grant lesbian drama***​

January 1992. Amy Grant is the biggest star at the moment at A&M, her label. 3 top 10 singles, including a #1, an album that is selling shitloads, and nominated in the top categories for the next Grammy Awards.

It was time to film the video for her next single, Good for me (it will eventually give her a 4th top 10 in a row). It was going to be directed by the same guy that did her previous clips for the Heart in motion singles, and the idea behind the video was as simple and innocent as Amy having fun with another female, who was meant to be portrayed as a childhood friend of Grant's. What could possibly go wrong?


Dramatization of the actual events (surely it was something very close to this)


A bunch of straight white American Christian men, the executives of the record company, reunited in a room to premiere Amy's Good for me video. They're non stop smoking, probably farting, and the air is really dense. They're all happy and joking because they know they have another hit in their hands.

*Plays video*


Dead silence in the room. After a few seconds that looked endless, one of them manages to say:

-Are they supposed to be... lesbians?

One of them faints on the floor

-What is this? What are they wearing? They look like two... sluts. Two sluts that are lesbians!

Screams. Several faint on the floor.




Yes, what was going to be a sweet and innocent video about 2 gilrfriends of the childhood, in the dirty mind of these men (straight and Christian men, it can't get dirtier than that) she was portrayed as a lesbian, and a slut because she was wearing clothes that surely were not appropiated for decent people (I mean, shorts ) I swear to God that I'm not making it up and the word slut was used, do your research.

So they had to rush and film another video. They called the guy in the Baby baby video to play it safe this time.


I didn't know about this until much later, and I never watched the original video until youtube came to our lives. This is the infamous video, that is only wrong in the mind of dirty Christian men, seriously:






And this is the one that became the main one, a much boring and extremely heterosexual video:

 

[Joseph]

Ok that is DEFINITELY lesbian vibes

QUITE BIT TITS on her friend there

 

[Ellie]

Well. I’m very surprised that sapphic erotica like that is even allowed on YouTube!

 

[funky]

The LEERING LOOKS!

The SHARING OF NEGLIGEE



I means it’s about as sexual as Ed Sheeran naked, but the director was clearly having a bit of fun with it!

 

[funky]

I’m also worried that now that the lesbian drama is OUT THE BAG, the thread has peaked and I’ll need to close shop early

 

[alla]

Hell no, as if there are no more dramas coming soon, like the biggest rigging in chart History later this year, something that is going to be hard to believe (it involves Whitney). I'm sure I'll come up with more and more shit, keep going please.

 

[Joseph]

I’m also worried that now that the lesbian drama is OUT THE BAG, the thread has peaked and I’ll need to close shop early

 

[old spice]

A place full of Amy Grant fans is safe to confess anything.

LOL. Well, I was referring more to the fact that funky's thread seems to be a very welcoming space for Moopy minorities (POC, heterosexuals, etc.), to the point where I'd ordinarily wonder if our esteemed guide was a straight Black man himself! But this bizarre fixation with Amy Grant tells me ALL I need to know, eh.

Anyway, I listened to that Wet Wet Wet song again for probably the first time in decades. I must have been basing my appreciation of it on childhood memories cos it's not quite the underrated gem I believed it to be. I therefore retract my prior confession and regain some semblance of credibility.

Also @alla your knowledge of otherwise-forgotten factoids from music/chart history is truly a thing of wonder. I love the idea of Geto Boys single-handedly destroying chart countdowns the world over. And Nirvana only hitting #41 on airplay makes SO much sense cos there is no way that 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' feels like a '#6' hit. Thank you for sharing so much with us!

 

[alla]

And Nirvana only hitting #41 on airplay makes SO much sense cos there is no way that 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' feels like a '#6' hit.

Yeah totally, it's hard to understand how radio didn't buy it; I think they were just ahead of their time and top40 radio were not ready for it. Their follow up, Come as you are, will peak at #62 on airplay, which surely affected the sales of the single (#27). I guess someone had to be there first, they walked so the rest could run. And who actually cares about chart positions when so have such an anthem that will forever be remembered, as if anyone could name now most of the #1s those years.

Also keep in mind that given that the Hot 100 is compiled with both airplay and sales combined, sometimes the chart position doesn't really reflect the reality of the popularity of the song. A massive seller with virtually no airplay would still peak high in the chart, but that's probably the beginning of the end for that artist, with no support from radio in

And right now in Jan 92 we have a good example:

MC Hammer (or Hammer as he was now known, not that anyone remembers him that way) was still doing big business in the US, with "Addams Groove" and "2 Legit 2 Quit" both hitting the Top 10 simultaneously.

Seeing the peak position oh his hits, one would think that Hammer was still going strong in US:

#8 U can't touch this
#4 Have you seen her
#2 Pray
_________
(January 92)
#5 2 Legit 2 quit
#7 Addams groove

The reality is that, even when sales were strong, radio was totally over him already, and his career was over. Check the peak position on airplay for the 1992 hits and compare them to his previous ones here:

Spoiler: sale and airplay data for MC Hammer

This of course is totally different to what happened with Smells like teen spirits, a case of radio not catching up with a new artist, but why not another lesson in chart History.

 

[alla]

joined in with other established peers such as En Vogue

Someone could think that this is a very absurd thing to say, how are En Vogue going to be an established artist in less than 2 years, having just one hit? Well, what funky wrote is absolutely true and the perfect excuse for yet another rant

En Vogue were absolutely massive in the US in 1990-91. Three #1 r&b singles, another top 3, and they even released a remix album of their debut one. How many artists release a remix album of their very first one? Exactly. The pop charts don't reflect their impact, but before they were funky divas, they were already established, in a record time, like if they've been around forever.

Remember those days airplay on r&b radio wasn't reflected in the Hot 100, and same for sales in r&b stores; some r&b singles even went gold and never made the Hot 100. And Billboard wasn't the worst about this; even when Hold on took months to take off on pop radio, and it only peaked at #8 on (top40) airplay, they placed it as #8 for 1990 (it peaked at #1 on sales and went platinum). But Billboard was not the only popular chart magazine back then, there were more. Does anyone remember/know music magazine HITS? They also published several charts, very similar to Billboard. I think I have a copy of a 1992 number, I'll scan some charts if anyone is curious or wants to see Amy Grant doing well in yet another charts.

Also Cashbox, a magazine that was older that Billboard, I think it was the second more relevant as for music charts. One of the big competitors of Billboard was Radio & Records (R&R) a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries, that produced a very popular top 40 countdown show. Well, guess what: Hold on didn't even make the top 10 in that chart, and they placed the song in the "End of the year Top 100" at #100 Like wtf!? This confirms what has been said several times in this thread, how ignored r&b was and how the Hot 100 didn't reflect the reality. Not that black artists being discriminated in America back then is a surprise to anyone, but fortunatelly things were going to change soon, at least to some extent.

 

[funky]

I like to read different magazines and industry people’s best of lists to see who in hindsight are considered important artists of a particular genre or period - even if they’re a bit snobby and ignore a lot of pop, they’re a good indicator of which acts have endured and been recognised over time as important contributors to their respective genres.

Such lists in the 90s tend to be very guitar heavy, with grunge, metal and britpop dominating, and “black” music very heavily leaning hip-hop and rap. Great that 2Pac, Nas and Tribe are getting their flowers these days, but 90s R&B is largely ignored by the ‘experts’ compared to their 60s and 70s heyday.

There are some exceptions. The industry loves and values neo-soul; Erykah and D’Angelo in particular get a lot of attention in best of lists. But mainstream R&B not so much. You never usually see Toni Braxton, Usher, SWV, Jodeci or even Boyz II Men mentioned in these conversations. Maybe the odd album, but that’s it.

There are three acts, however, that appear regularly. Mary J Blige, TLC and En Vogue. In each case their sophomore albums regularly appear in best of 90s album lists and recognitions. They very much punch above the collective ignorance caused by the over saturation of the genre.

We’re about to hit a period of about five years where R&B is going to massively dominate. I do intend to still cover all the great dance, rock and indie stuff across the years though. But yes, let’s recognise that En Vogue, for a time, were not just another girlband. Some of the live performances they were doing in 1992 are next level. And we’ll never know, but you have to wonder what they might have been capable of had Dawn not been Dawn. But we’ll get to that eventually.

Also and to not dismiss 90s R&B as this vast overbearing money machine, there are some REALLY good albums coming soon from lesser known R&B acts that I’m looking forward to revisiting. And that’s before we even get to the songs I’m yet to discover.

 

[BoysForSeles]

I’m looking forward to some good album recommendations as I’ve bought many rnb albums over the years based on some amazing singles only to find the album packed with filler. It seems, to me, to happen in this genre, well at least the more commercial side, more than any other genre so I’m ready to be educated.

 

[funky]

Well there’s some truth to it; the industry was a cash cow and labels were falling over themselves to sign acts that weren’t ready and throw out albums that weren’t finished. There’s also the repetitive sex themes across many of the albums. But there are definitely some gems to be found.

 

[alla]

Btw, about Amy Grant's Good for me, I remember an article in a 1992 number of Billboard magazine, talking about multiformats and how confused new fans were looking for Amy cds in the dance section of the record store Who knew she was the new Queen of Dance music I (sort of) remember that article so many decades later because Billboard called those poor guys pathetic, or something like that, which shocked me, because I would never expect that foul language from Billboard. Also because that poor confuse guy could very well be me. I need to find that article if i can be arsed.

 

[alla]

Jan-25 Color Me Badd - All 4 Love (1)

You would think an artist like Color me Badd would peak at #1 based mostly on sales. Wrong, the single peaked at #4 on sales. The fact that this song spent 4 weeks at #1 on airplay still baffles me.

I have to say despite my love for 90s R&B, I've never really been a big fan of Jodeci. Just too much warbling. Most of their hits are downtempo or ballads and maybe there's some good upbeat bops to be found across their 4 albums, but I don't know them. If I was to go for bedroom R&B, the females do it much better.

I totally agree. I love Come & talk to me, the song that put them on the map in top40 radio, but other than that, I find them so boring and generic. I mean, they're ok, but just.

94 — BREAKIN’ MY HEART (PRETTY BROWN EYES) –•– Mint Condition

Probably you're gonna talk about this single later, because it will climb into the top 10, but just in case, one of the best r&b songs of the year, I love it. The album is full of fillers tho, so not this one, @BoysForSeles, but if you don't know this song, check it out.




Wow, finally a radio edit of a 90s r&b song on Spotify. God I hate Spotify.

 

[old spice]

I too have kept an eye on these 'greatest ever' lists over the years. Much more so in my youth tbh, when I was hungry to have an opinion about everything that others considered great (I can be a mouthy cunt). I also found them pretty helpful in terms of building pathways + figuring out where my own tastes lay.

But it's a VERY valid point that Black artists - and especially women - have been consistently shafted by such lists. There's always a tokenistic inclusion of Aretha (and nowadays Beyoncé, ugh), as if all other contributions can be encapsulated by rubber-stamping, say, Lady Soul and Lemonade. It's frustrating, not just because the greatest female artist for me (Nina Simone) often gets sidelined because of such practices, but more because entire genres and other vital, equally impactful artists get devalued as a result.

It was interesting seeing how radically the Rolling Stone lists of albums and singles changed after they opened up their voter base beyond the same greying White men that had been defining their norms for decades. As soon as they expand to encompass women and POC, we suddenly go from: half the top ten albums being the Beatles and Bob Dylan, NINE of them being White, and zero females; to having Prince, Lauryn Hill, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Wonder amongst the ten and Marvin Gaye (KING ) at #1. The importance of representation when it comes to cultural gatekeepers can't be emphasised enough, and this applies to other canons too (literature, cinema) - Jeanne Dielman triumphing over the usual Hitchcock/Kubrick/etc. fare in the most recent Sight & Sound poll was as deserved as it was delightful. You'd like to think that paradigms will continue to shift as younger, more diverse commentators graduate to becoming the new gatekeepers, and that's a process that I very much support (despite my personal preference being for those earlier lists with the old White rock acts dominating, SORRY!).