Songoftheday 5/15/14 - Baby I know you're wondering why I won't go over to your place, 'cause I'm not too sure about how you feel so I'd rather go at my own pace...

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam featuring Full Force - "I Wonder If I Take You Home"
from the album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6

Today's Song of the Day comes from the New York freestyle dance group Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, who were put together by the R&B/hip-hop group Full Force, and released their first album with credited their labelmates in 1985. Their first single, "I Wonder If I Take You Home", featured a rap-style beat from members Spanador and Mike Hughes, but instead of an MC, Puerto Rican-American singer Lisa Velez warbled over the track that's half come-on and half regret, like a "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" for the 80s generation...

"I Wonder If I Take You Home" became the group's first top-40 pop hit in August of 1985, after topping the dance club play chart and reaching #6 on the R&B list in Billboard magazine. Internationally, where the song was originally released in a breakdancing compilation, the single did even better on the chart, climbing to #12 on the chart in the UK, and going top-40 in neighboring Ireland. But "I Wonder..."'s success was far bigger than its chart peak belies, becoming a cult classic in the discos and on the up and coming Latin-flavored dance pop radio that was starting to pick up real steam in the bigger cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

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In 1995 the rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A. interpolated the song with a then-new singer Aaliyah singing the chorus on "I Need You Tonight", which went to #43 on the R&B chart...

Rapper Angie Martinez teamed up with pre-"Milkshake" Kelis for "Take You Home", which went to #85 on the pop chart in 2003...


A year later, Kylie Minogue mixed the song into her own "Secret (Take You Home") in 2004, which was a hit single in Asia..

The Black Eyed Peas sampled the track for their top-10 hit "Don't Phunk With My Heart" in 2005...

Up tomorrow: A British rock group goes to the appliance store. Hilarity ensues.