Songoftheday 11/30/14 - Not a word from your lips, you just took for granted that I want to skinny dip....

Jermaine Stewart - "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off"
from the album Frantic Romantic (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 13

Today's Song of the Day comes from singer Jermaine Stewart, who started out as a dancer on Soul Train along with Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel, who also went on to musical success with the band Shalamar (and Jody's subsequent solo success). Jermaine tried out for the group, but was passed over. Landing a backup dancer spot for Shalamar, he hooked up with Culture Club, who hired him on to sing background vocals on their top-5 pop hit "Miss Me Blind". They also helped him get a solo record deal, and he released his first album in 1984, and almost made the American top-40 with "The Word Is Out". For his second album Frantic Romantic, producer Narada Michael Walden brought his A-game for a single as infectious as his "Freeway Of Love" was for Aretha Franklin. With a AIDS-era message that went beyond safe sex to downright chastity, "We Don't Have To Take Your Clothes Off" was made even more hilarious from Jermaine's campy delivery, sounding like he's making a million excuses not to get down with the ladies. But his vocal chops and attitude made you forget all about that and just dance...

"We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" became Jermaine's first and only top-10 pop hit in America in August of 1986. The single also crossed over to the R&B chart at #64, and made the dance club chart at #41. Internationally, the song did even better, reaching #2 in both Canada and England, and #4 in Ireland. And due to it being in a commercial the song returned to the British top-40 in 2011.

The single remains the perfect specimen of one-off pop goodness, offering the slightest bit of social commentary with a groove that makes you turn up the radio in the car and damn the consequences.

(Fun fact, I reviewed the album on the bloggie back in 2007.)

Cherry wine sounds disgusting. And yes, Jermaine did go on to pass away from AIDS-related illnesses, but keep your mind out of that judgy place.

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In 2004, rapper Mase tried to resurrect the song as part of his single "Keep It On", with Ciara singing the chorus, but the song stiffed on the charts...

British girl-group Clea, a product of the competition Popstars, covered the song in 2005 and reached the top-40 on the UK chart...

Another product of a British reality-singing show, Lil' Chris from Rock School, had a minor hit in Britain with a rock-tinged version of the song in 2007...

That same year, American indie-rock act Gym Class Heroes and Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump interpolated the tune into their single "Clothes Off!", which landed at #46 on the American pop chart and #5 in the UK...

I'll leave you with this cover by British singer Ella Eyre redone as a ballad...

Up tomorrow: British new wave band has an undercover parting.