Songoftheday 1/7/18 - Boy you've been running around too long and I think you're running out of time, no more jumping in and out of my bed it's time for me to draw the line...
from the album The Comfort Zone (1991)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11
Today's song of the day comes from Vanessa Williams, who went from being crowned Miss America in 1983 to being dethroned and shunned in the beauty queen world for a leaked set of pictures she had not authorized for release but published by Penthouse magazine. However, getting the last laugh, Vanessa became the most successful winner of that contest, and started her music career by scoring a top ten pop hit in the spring of 1989 with the lush adult R&B of "Dreamin'". With this success, she was able to expand her musical landscape for her sophomore album The Comfort Zone. The first single from the record would be the funky dance-pop nugget "Running Back To You". Written by Trevor Gale and Kenni Hairston, the song connected with a younger audience as mainstream radio got on board to put in besides the likes of Karyn White and Cathy Dennis. And the music video was edited for MTV consumption with its fast breaks and new jack-style imaging...
"Running Back To You" became Vanessa's second top-40 pop hit in October of 1991. The song also spent two weeks at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart (her second chart-topper after "Dreamin'"), and the remixes of the track helped it stay three weeks at #2 on their Dance Club Play tally. Internationally, the single only resonated in Canada, where it was a minor hit at #86. The following year, "Running Back To You" was nominated for a Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Performance, losing out to a rare tie of Lisa Fischer's "How Can I Ease The Pain" and Patti LaBelle's Burnin' album.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Here's Vanessa appearing on Arsenio Hall in 1991, singing both "Running Back To You" as well as second single "The Comfort Zone", which missed the pop top-40. I adore this jazzy arrangement that still keeps its house music undertones...
Next up is the club mix that helped the song spend three weeks at #2 on Billboard's Dance chart...
Finally, in the UK the remixing act DNA ("Tom's Diner") did a more deep-house treatment with horns and looser bassline...
Up tomorrow: British new wavers have a romantic request.
Comments