Robbed Hit of the Week 10/5/14 - Five Star's "Let Me Be The One"...

5 Star - "Let Me Be The One"
from the album Luxury Of Life (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #59

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the British sibling soul act 5 Star, who came on to the scene with their Jackson-esque cuteness and dance moves and frenetic beats and hit top-20 on the UK pop chart and American R&B chart and top-10 on the US dance club play list with "All Fall Down". Their second single, "Let Me Be The One", turned out to be their big break on American radio, with a smooth and slightly more than midtempo glide and an extra-tight vocal arrangement that was more inviting than the in-your-face pop of "All Fall Down". Written by Ian Moore and produced by Nick Martinelli using the British soul band Loose Ends to play the instrumentals with Grover Washington Jr. donating a sax solo, the single sounded like pop perfection, and fresh faces still in braces...

"Let Me Be The One" became the quintet's biggest hit on the R&B chart in American, climbing all the way to #2, while scoring them a second club hit at #9. However, on the Hot 100, the single stalled down at #59, in a time when smooth R&B that wasn't Sade was having a hard time on the charts. In their native Britain, the single again went top-20 at #18, but by their fifth single from the album, "System Addict", they found themselves in the top-3 there.

Needless to say I was (and still remain) a huge fan of the group; their earnestness and vocal blend had me hooked.

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A rapper whose work I dug back in the day, A+, sampled "Let Me Be The One" on his 1999 album track "Price Of Fame"..