Songoftheday 11/14/15 - Seen you last night say you standin' there, couldn't picture the color of your hair...

"I Want Her" - Keith Sweat
from the album Make It Last Forever (1987)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 13

Today's Song of the Day comes from R&B singer/songwriter/producer Keith Sweat, who grew up in New York City, and after years of working as a bandmember and in the studio, released his debut solo album in 1987. The first single from the set, "I Want Her", was the first "big" hit of the new jack swing style of soul music, which was distinctive for its uptempo, percussive backbeat and prominent basslines. Written and produced by Sweat with the genre's master, Teddy Riley, the single changed the sound of R&B (and eventually pop) radio...

"I Want Her" became Keith's first pop hit, reaching the top-5 on the American pop chart in April of 1988. The song spent three weeks atop Billboard's R&B Singles chart, while the 12" extended version reached #38 on their Dance Club Play list. Internationally, the record reached the top-30 in Britain (#26) and New Zealand (#24), but just missed the top-40 in neighboring Canada.

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Here's Keith appearing on Soul Train to promote the record...

...and actually live at the Apollo in 1989...

...and finally, on the Motown Live program...

Up tomorrow: a teen prodigy comes unannounced.