Songoftheday 5/18/16 - And even though my man has left me behind, I don't regret a thing for having you...

"Thanks For My Child" - Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley
from the album Me, Myself & I (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 5

Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley, who was working as a nurse when she was discovered by Lucien George (aka "Bowlegged Lou") of the vocal band Full Force, who had helped Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam and Samantha Fox advance their careers. Her first single, "Thanks For My Child", was recorded and released when she still hadn't quit her day-job, but the tender ballad about how a child can "save" a single mother's soul caught on with both R&B and pop stations in America...

"Thanks For My Child" became Cheryl's sole pop hit in America, reaching the top 40 in December of 1988. The single topped Billboard's R&B chart for one week the previous month. In the UK, the song popped on to the singles chart at #75.

The mid-tempo title track from her Me, Myself & I album followed, climbing to #18 on the R&B chart. In 1991, Riley released a second album, Chapters, with the anti-abuse ballad "How Can You Hurt The One You Love" reaching #35 on the soul list. Two years later, she put out All That!, and lead single "Gimme", which drew on the Mary J. Blige-style new jack sound, made it to #36. Leaving music recording mostly behind to concentrate on acting, Riley became a regular on the series of plays produced by Tyler Perry. Her most recent musical solo effort to make the charts was the more seductive boudoir soul of "Come Over", which slipped in at #87 on the R&B chart in 2007.

Up tomorrow: British blue-eyed soul rocker is retaining.