Remember on “American Top 40” when Casey Kasem would skip over songs that had been on the charts forever and a day? Well, since I already discussed “Yah Mo B There” here, there’s no point in rehashing. It pops up at #87 on my list.
Now, song #86 is probably one of, if not the least-known song on this whole countdown. Most of you know Jody Watley as 1/3 of bubbly pop/disco group Shalamar or as the fashion plate who delivered post-Janet hits like “Looking for a New Love” and “Real Love”, but this song, while not a huge hit, served as her finest moment.
Not only is Jody almost unrecognizable vocally-rocking a tone so deep you wouldn’t be out of line if you thought a man was singing, but this song has a nasty funk groove. The chicken scratch guitars and popping bass were provided by a guy named Andre Cymone. Prince fans may know Cymone as the Minneapolis Wonder’s original bass player (he left right before “1999”) and his de facto brother-Andre’s mother took Prince in as a teenager and the two boys grew up together. Andre had a fairly forgettable solo career, but scored a handful of hits as a producer, working with everyone from Jermaine Stewart to Adam Ant to Jody, who at the time of this song was his girlfriend and later became his wife. The two divorced at some point in the mid-Nineties, reportedly under a fair bit of acrimony, and Andre has become something of a recluse. Jody, however, still regularly scores hits on the dance charts and tours the country. Her most recent album, “The Makeover”, was released last year and scored a minor hit with a cover of Madonna’s “Borderline”.
Oh, you’ll also find Andre fairly prominently featured as the love interest in this video.
