Songoftheday 1/29/18 - The camera pans the cocktail glass behind a blind of plastic plants, I found the lady with the fat diamond ring...
from the album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (1991)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 18
Today's song of the day comes from the alternative hip-hop duo P.M. Dawn, two brothers from New Jersey who grew up in New Jersey. Attrell (aka Prince Be) and Jarrett (aka DJ Minutemix) Cordes, whose stepfather George Brown of the R&B band Kool & The Gang, got their break first in the UK, where after an indie single ("Ode To A Forgetful Mind") that grabbed critical buzz, they released their debut single "A Watcher's Point Of View", which climbed to #36 on the British singles chart in 1991. That success led to their debut album, Of The Heart, of the Soul and Of The Cross in the summer of that year. The next single, "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss", was a stunning record, with Prince Be's ponderings laid upon a foundation of British new wave band Spandau Ballet's 1984 hit "True", which gave the track both a familiarity and a freshness that both sides of the Atlantic couldn't deny...
"Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" became P.M. Dawn's first and biggest hit single in America, climbing to the top of the pop chart in November of 1991. It was the first #1 single since Billboard magazine started to track actual sales using a point-of-purchase device called Soundscan, and actual airplay using a computer monitor on all the major radio stations around the country. The single also climbed to #16 on Billboard's R&B chart, while the 12" vinyl/CD single remixes helped it peak at #6 on their Dance Club Play tally. Internationally, the record went to #1 in New Zealand, and reached the top ten in the UK (#3), Germany (#3), the Netherlands (#4), Switzerland (#4), Ireland (#5), Australia (#7), Sweden (#7), Canada (#9), and Austria (#9).
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
I was lucky enough to see PM Dawn at the AIDS Dance a Thon at the Javitts center in 1992. Here's footage from their show...
Here's the extended remix that made the top ten on the dance chart...
Lastly, in 2005 PM Dawn appeared on the British TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time and performed the song. It was after Prince Be had a stroke that partially paralyzed him...
Up tomorrow: Singer and TV host cruises down a sleepy avenue.
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