Pop Top 40: Hot Soul Singles week ending 11/16/85

While pop was stagnating at the end of '85, R&B was smokin'

[this week, last week, 2 weeks ago, (weeks on chart), title, artist]
1 1 1 (11) PART TIME LOVER — Stevie Wonder — In Square Circle can tend at times towards goopy, but its lead single is the epitome of “buoyant.” And Luther Vandross’s backing vocals are gorgeous; they’re even more audible on the 12” version.
2 2 9 (10) WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO — Aretha Franklin — Narada Michael Walden could produce records within an inch of their lives, and did so with much of Franklin’s pop comeback Who’s Zoomin’ Who (she’d already “come back” on the R&B charts, back to 1980’s Aretha). I prefer this immensely to “Freeway of Love,” and likely as much as follow-up “Another Night.” Franklin sells it. Fun fact: one of the many backing singers on this is Sylvester.
3 6 10 (9) EVERYBODY DANCE — Ta Mara and the Seen — One of a myriad of post-Purple Rain Minneapolis funk records littering the charts in the mid ‘80s, this one produced and co-written by former Time member Jesse Johnson. “Dance” is a bit of a trifle, though decently sung by Ta Mara, aka Margie Cox. The true killer on their self-titled debut is “Affecttion” [sic], #19 R&B in early ‘86.
4 9 12 (9) CARAVAN OF LOVE — Isley/Jasper/Isley — Half of the classic ‘70s Isley Brothers lineup, this trio would succeed Wonder at #1 with the title track from their sophomore album. It’s an easygoing “can’t we all just get along” peon, well-produced; the following year the Housemartins would top the UK chart with an a cappella cover. I prefer its follow-up, the weird “Insatiable Woman.”
5 3 7 (10) THE OAK TREE — Morris Day — Morris attempts to make a dance craze on his first solo single, which he wrote and produced. It sounds like a Time rip-off, i.e. not a Prince record.
6 5 4 (13) I’LL BE GOOD — Rene & Angela — Angela Winbush should be a household name for her work in Rene & Angela, her solo career (especially the magnificent 1987 R&B #1 “Angel”), and her production and writing prowess for the likes of Stephanie Mills and the Isley Brothers. But because she never crossed over to pop radio, she isn’t, which is patently absurd. Her work as a duo with Rene Moore is largely airtight, a mix of great ballads and funky R&B, of which this song falls into the latter category. Just listen to that synth bass, good lord. Also, please read Alfred Soto’s 2018 PopCon paper on Winbush.
7 7 8 (10) YOU WEAR IT WELL — El DeBarge with DeBarge — The DeBarge family’s self-production was meticulous, and sounded like it — clear on this single, a not-great song polished to a high-buffed sheen. The lyrics aren’t great, but El sells ‘em. Their final top 20 hit.
8 4 2 (12) SINGLE LIFE — Cameo — Second-tier ‘70s/’80s Cameo is still good, just not great. So this doesn’t stack up against the likes of “She’s Strange” or “Candy,” but it’s still better than plenty in this chart. A little autopilot-y for them, though.
9 11 13 (10) PARTY ALL THE TIME — Eddie Murphy — A great Rick James production which resulted in a timeless smash. Murphy isn’t a great singer, but doesn’t have to be here. Q: how much cocaine was consumed during the making of this video? A: all of it.
10 12 14 (8) EATEN ALIVE — Diana Ross — This single is bizarre. It’s a Barry Gibb work with additional songwriting, production, and most importantly vocal assist from Ross’s most famous pal, Michael Jackson — on the choruses you can hear him perfecting a vocal tic he’d use to great effect on 1992’s Dangerous, a staccato “uh-huh!” — and the song makes absolutely no sense. That said, its coked-up synth-funk is both propulsive and addictive, and it’s also no surprise why this came nowhere near the pop top 40.

11 8 5 (12) THE SHOW — Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew — That sample of the Inspector Gadget theme makes this a bit too cartoonish for my taste; also, Fresh ain’t the best rapper around. Slick Rick, obv, is better, but still doesn’t do enough for me here.
12 14 20 (8) MIAMI VICE THEME — Jan Hammer — If you don’t count Baauer’s 2013 EDM garbage fluke chart-topper — video killed the radio star, indeed — this was the last instrumental to top the Hot 100. More strikingly to me, it also got to #10 R&B, so massive was the power of Miami Vice at the time. It doesn’t hurt that this synth jam could nearly be considered electro. 10/10, no notes.
13 16 21 (8) FALL DOWN (SPIRIT OF LOVE) — Tramaine — A rare gospel crossover, heading to #7 R&B and #1 on the dance chart, this is superb upbeat ‘85 synth-soul.
14 15 18 (7) WAIT FOR LOVE — Luther Vandross — Maybe my favorite Vandross single ever, an aching, light-touch, slower-than-slow ballad. And it didn’t even go top 10, peaking at #11! Seriously, WTF. The production on this, by Vandross and his musical right hand bassist Marcus Miller, is of course immaculate.
15 13 3 (15) YOU ARE MY LADY — Freddie Jackson — I’m an avowed Freddie Jackson stan, but not for his second solo single and #1, which is almost defiantly meh.
16 20 34 (5) A LOVE BIZARRE — Sheila E. — Basically a Prince single with a few Sheila E. vocals on it, this is firmly good-not-great Prince. But really, who’s gonna argue with merely good Prince?
17 19 29 (6) DON’T SAY NO TONIGHT — Eugene Wilde — Wilde had a good 1985, earning his only two #1s with “Gotta Get You Home Tonight” in January and this in December (the year’s last, topping the chart on 12/21). Both of his hits were basically midtempo Freddie Jackson-core: incredibly pleasant and not much more.
18 18 24 (10) KRUSH GROOVE (CAN’T STOP THE STREET) — Chaka Khan — Co-written by Dan Hartman and with a rap by Nile Rodgers (…), this feels like an attempt to catch “I Feel for You” lightning again. It doesn’t succeed.

19 22 37 (6) THIS IS FOR YOU — The System — The second of five top 10s for the duo who came out of funk band Kleeer, this is almost delicate synth-soul, made with precision you can hear. They’d top the R&B chart and go top 5 pop two years later with the deathless “Don’t Disturb the Groove.”
20 10 6 (13) STAND BY ME — Maurice White — I don’t much care for Ben E. King’s original, and accordingly don’t really feel the need for covers of it, but to his credit Earth, Wind & Fire’s White gives this a nicely contemporary re-rub.

21 26 33 (6) GIRLS ARE MORE FUN — Ray Parker Jr. — Parker Jr.’s songs had a tendency towards icky, but this one is way up that scale. “More fun” than what, exactly?
22 27 36 (7) SAY I’M YOUR NUMBER ONE — Princess — I love that the British template for R&B in the ‘80s was by & large slow & low: think Loose Ends, think Soul II Soul, and think this gem, the first foray into R&B from Stock Aitken & Waterman (!). A far cry from their usual hi-NRG of the time — or the percolating pop they’d pursue with Kylie and Jason later — this song is a mood, a vibe. Princess’s self-titled debut has some other goodies on it, too.
23 30 47 (5) THINKING ABOUT YOU — Whitney Houston — There was a time, and that time was the ‘80s and ‘90s, when record labels could work singles to one radio format and not others. And that’s just what happened with this lighter-than-air Kashif-helmed song from Whitney Houston which was never sent to top 40 radio — which may be why you find it a deep cut. At R&B, however, it hit #10; it was only released on 12”, so it wasn’t eligible to chart on the Hot 100 at the time, due to silly rules. Houston’s vocal sounds utterly carefree, which adds to the record’s charm.
24 32 43 (6) CURIOSITY — Jets — The first single from the Minneapolis family band, heading for #8; it didn’t chart pop. But a pair of pop and R&B top 5s from their debut album were imminent (the great “Crush on You” and the limp ballad “You Got It All), along with a slew of more from their soph effort. They made perfectly competent, unexceptional pop-R&B which was fine as long as they weren’t singing ballads.
25 25 32 (9) BABY I’M SORRY — R.J.’s Latest Arrival — Throwback-y soul balladry, and by “throwback” I mean to about 1981.
26 33 39 (6) NEVER FELT LIKE DANCIN’ — Teddy Pendergrass — From Workin’ It Back, the 10th of 12 consecutive top 10 R&B albums: wow! The soul legend was the epitome of a non-crossover Black star, only making the pop top 40 twice and never higher than #25 (1978’s Quiet Storm classic “Close the Door”). “Dancin’” is a minor uptempo, synth-stabby entry in his catalog, but much like with Cameo and Prince, even middling Pendergrass is still pretty strong.
27 36 44 (7) WHO DO YOU LOVE — Bernard Wright — Probably more well-known these days for its sampling on Trackmasters’ superb remix of LL Cool J’s “Loungin’ (Who Do Ya Luv),” this was the single big crossover R&B hit for jazz keyboardist Wright, heading to #6. If I tell you that Marcus Miller and Lenny White co-produced it, will that help you understand? It should. This is wonderfully thumping yet smooth, catchy-as-fuck R&B.
28 41 56 (3) COUNT ME OUT — New Edition — Kinetic uptempo soul from the teen dreams, the first single from their third album All for Love, their last to feature Bobby Brown, who by this point in time had left the group. This is heading for #2, and it’s delightful.
29 31 38 (8) I CAN’T BELIEVE IT (IT’S OVER) — Melba Moore — Fairly generic R&B from the erstwhile star, who’d finally get a pair of #1 in ‘86 thanks to the magic touches of Kashif and Freddie Jackson.
30 34 42 (7) YOU LOOK GOOD TO ME — Cherrelle — This Jam & Lewis track goes hard, and so does Cherrelle, who sounds like she’s gonna take what she wants and doesn’t give a damn if you don’t like it. One of many great muses for Jam & Lewis, and maybe my favorite track of hers.

31 17 11 (15) I WISH HE DIDN’T TRUST ME SO MUCH — Bobby Womack — On its way down the chart from a #2 peak, Womack’s final top 10 hews to his tried-and-true old soul man formula; I’m fascinated that someone as out of time as he was notching huge hits this far into the ‘80s. This musically relaxed, lyrically less relaxed tale of a man who wants his best friend’s wife is kinda great.
32 45 55 (4) EMERGENCY — Kool & the Gang — K&TG in revved-up mid ‘80s funk-rock mode, with some genuinely regrettable lyrics like “I need 10 cc’s of hot passion!”
33 40 48 (5) SEDUCTION — Val Young — A warmed-over Rick James production which didn’t result in much; her real money shot was “If You Should Ever Be Lonely” (#21 R&B), notably covered by Mariah Carey as part of David Morales’s “Heartbreaker” remix.
34 28 16 (17) OBJECT OF MY DESIRE — Starpoint — Pop-R&B of the Jets ilk; fine and nothing more.
35 43 50 (5) HONEY FOR THE BEES — Patti Austin — It’s an Alyson Moyet cover: please let that sink in! It’s even produced by Moyet’s producers, Jolley & Swain. Interestingly this doesn’t sound particularly British nor synthy, as Moyet’s ‘84 original sounds much like what was happening in dancefloor R&B at the time, so it works for Austin. And of course vocalists like Moyet and Austin know what to do with it.
36 38 40 (9) STOP PLAYING ON ME — Vikki Love with Nuance — Proto-freestyle — with a slight rearrangement, you could hear this as an Expose record.

37 NEW (1) SAY YOU, SAY ME — Lionel Richie — Wallpaper paste as a record.
38 21 15 (13) SILVER SHADOW — Atlantic Starr — Nine top 10s singles and five top 10 albums — that’s nothing to sneer at. Pop fans only know them from a trio of overly drippy ballads, but there was more to this band, both ballad- and non-ballad-wise, this being a fine example of the latter. If you like midtempo groovin’, and I certainly do, you’ll love this.
39 24 19 (12) MAKE YOUR MOVE ON ME BABY — Charlie Singleton — If his voice sounds familiar, that’s because he was concurrently a member of Cameo, for most of the ‘80s. This is self-produced and -written synth-funk that’s fine, but you’ll forget it in five minutes.

40 23 23 (11) COOLIN’ OUT — Dennis Edwards — A middle-of-the-road ballad from the former Temptations singer best known solo for his epic 1984 record with Siedah Garrett, “Don’t Look Any Further” (#2 R&B, a non-starter pop, and it was pop’s loss). The video for the latter is kind of legendary for its extreme cable access vibes, so I’m including it as a bonus below.