Songoftheday 5/27/15 - Come with me my sweet let's go make a family and they will bring us joy...

"Always" - Atlantic Starr
from the album All In The Name Of Love (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 14

Today's SOTD comes from the R&B band Atlantic Starr, who strayed from their funk and post-disco roots to score a mainstream pop hit with their 1985 single "Secret Lovers". However, none of the seven other singles from the record made more than a minor dent on pop radio. So when it came time to release their next album, All In The Name Of Love, they wasted no time, releasing another sugary ballad out of the box. In this case, as opposed to the cheating motif of "Secret Lovers", they went straight to the wedding chapel with the reception-ready "Always". Written and produced by sibling band members David, Wayne, and Jonathan Lewis, the song brought out every Hallmark cliche' you can conjure up, but as a "duet" between Lewis and co-lead singer Sharon Bryant it did have a sweetness that a mega-star collaboration would lack...

"Always" climbed all the way to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart in June of 1987. The single also topped the mag's R&B and Adult Contemporary charts as well. Internationally, the record went to #1 in Canada, and #3 in the UK.

Up tomorrow: A veteran jazz-rock band is thankful for infidelity.