Jody Watley • #1 On The Floor

It is almost hard for me to believe, but it was about 25 years ago that the beautiful and talented Jody Watley ruled the dance floors with her solo debut. Born in Chicago, the young Watley was inspired by Diana Ross and many others making great music. She made her first stage appearance alongside her godfather, Jackie Wilson, at a very young age. By the time she was a teen, Watley was becoming a regular on Soul Train, a standout with her beauty, style, and slick dance moves. Along with fellow Soul Train dancer Jeffrey Daniel, Watley was selected to join Gary Mumford and become original members of the R&B group Shalamar, put together by the late, great Don Cornelius. Before long, Mumford was replaced, and soon Howard Hewett was on lead vocals. Watley was a part of the group from 1977 to 1984, taking part in hits like "The Second Time Around". Once she left the group, it was time to get to work on some solo music.



In February of 1987, Watley released her solo debut, the eponymous Jody Watley. The music audience seemed to like what they heard, for the album was soon certified Platinum in sales in the US, and Gold in Canada. Part of what drove the sales was the amazing first single, "Looking For A New Love". Written by Watley and André Cymone, the song was one of the biggest selling R&B singles of the year, making it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the R&B and Dance Club Play charts.



The third single off the album made it to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #3 on the R&B chart, and #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Don't You Want Me" was written by Watley, Franne Golde, and D.P. Bryant. The studios loved her crossover appeal, and her ability to score on the R&B, Dance, and Pop charts with the same song. And it was certainly popular in the gay clubs in New York when I was out and about!



#10 on the Pop Chart, and #3 on the R&B chart. Once again, however, Watley reigned supreme on the Dance chart, hitting #1. Written by Watley with former Prince bassist André Cymone, "Some Kind of Lover" was the third song off Jody's debut to make it to the Billboard Pop Top 10, something not many artists can have on their resumé.



For more about Jody Watley, you can visit her official website. You can find her debut album on iTunes and Amazon. You can find the remix album, You Wanna Dance With Me?, in my CD collection, as well as on iTunes and Amazon. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Dark Monday - Red Hot + Blue 5

Twenty years ago, the album Red Hot + Blue was released. It featured the music of American musical theater legend Cole Porter and some of the top acts of the day, all to raise money and awareness for AIDS research. The album contained 20 cuts, and I found 17 videos for those cuts, and for the next several weeks, will be running them in this Monday night spot. This is the final installment of those videos. The album was thought of as a fundraising tool, it also allowed the artists involved great freedom with their interpretation of Porter's music, making for a wide variety of styles on the album. We shall go through the album in the order that is on my CD, which I did purchase at the time.

Singer Lisa Stansfield had used her own love of jazz and pop music to create a career with some hits, and also to join in the making of this great album. She sang Porter's Down In The Depths, written in 1936 for the Broadway musical Red, Hot And Blue, originally sung by the legendary Ethel Merman.



After topping the charts with the band Chic, Jody Watley went on to solo stardom with her own blend of Pop and Dance music. But for After You, Who?, she took a more classic approach, with a beautiful result. The song was written for the 1932 musical The Gay Divorcee, and sung by the incomparable Fred Astaire.



Jimmy Somerville topped the charts with the Bronski Beat and the Communards, and had a rather nice solo career as well. The out singer had no problem tackling Porter's From This Moment On. The song was originally heard in the MGM musical Kiss Me Kate, a classic Pop song. But Jimmy gave it a dance beat and made it his own, with his voice scaling the heights as only he could.



The Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera had relatively little success in the US, that was not the case in the UK. They took part of the album, and ended up singing the final cut, Do I Love You?. The song was originally written for the musical DuBarry Was a Lady, where it was introduced by Ronald Graham and Ethel Merman. Aztec Camera too their own approach, and it became a wonderful closing number.



That is the end of the line for this series. I hope you enjoyed it.