Songoftheday 11/22/13 - Everybody's saying silly things without knowing that life brings a change...

New Edition - "Cool It Now"
from the album New Edition (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week)
Weeks in the top-40: 14

Today's Song of the Day is by the vocal soul group New Edition, who came together in the Orchard Park projects of Boston in the early 80s. After being discovered at a talent show by producer Maurice Starr, the quintet of Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie Devoe, and Bobby Brown released their first album under his label Streetwise, and scored a #1 hit on the American soul chart and British pop chart with "Candy Girl". But after being swindled by Starr and having to sue to get themselves out of their contract, New Edition signed up with MCA records, and released their self-titled sophomore album in 1984.

The first single from the set, "Cool It Now", was written and produced by the team of Vincent Brantley and Rick Timas, and the bubbly confection evolved the group from their Jackson Five-aping debut...

"Cool It Now" became New Edition's first pop top ten hit in America in January of 1985, while also topping the R&B chart here as well. Surprisingly, given their early success there, they missed the top-40 with the single in Britain, stopping at #43.

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...and here they are on Live At The Apollo in 1985, where they were spot on in their dancing...

Up tomorrow: A southern rock band goes back to school.