Songoftheday 5/8/18 - Lord I've really been real stressed down and out losing ground, although I am black and proud problems got me pessimistic...
from the album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of... (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 17
Today's song of the day comes from the alt-hip-hop collective Arrested Development, who came together in the late 1980s in Atlanta under rapper and musician Speech (Todd Thomas) and DJ Headliner (Tim Barnwell). Their debut album, which signaled the time it took to get signed, combined elements of rap, soul, and even the southern country experience in the music. The lead single Tennessee, which has Prince's top ten hit "Alphabet St." as a sample base, was drawn from Speech's feelings on faith and family after loss, which brought him to the state...
"Tennessee" became Arrested Development's first hit, reaching the top-10 on the pop Hot 100 in America in July of 1992. The song topped Billboard's R&B chart for a week, as well as doing the same on their Rap Singles tally. The extended remix helped the track land at #34 on their Dance Club Play list as well. Internationally, the record reached the top-40 in New Zealand (#12), Australia (#14), Sweden (#24), Switzerland (#25), Germany (#27), and the Netherlands (#34), while peaking just under that mark in the UK (#46). The single would go on to win a Grammy Award for Duo/Group Rap Performance in 1993, as well as Best New Artist that same year.
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Arrested Development introduced "Tennessee" on the Arsenio Hall show...
Here's the group performing "Tennessee" as well as follow-up "People Everyday" at MTV's New Year's bash in 1993...
Fast forward to 2008 with the band playing in studio...
Speech gives a bit more backstory on "Tennessee" on this appearance...
And finally, a performance from the Kennedy Center...
Up tomorrow: Hair metal band suggests an organ to give.
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