Robbed hit of the week 11/28/16 - Regina Belle's "Baby Come To Me"...
from the album Stay With Me (1989)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #60
This week's 'robbed hit' comes from soul singer Regina Belle, who like today's SOTD artist Sybil grew up in northern New Jersey (Englewood). Developing her musical skills in school as well as church, she got her break opening for vocal group the Manhattans, appearing on their 1986 single "Where Did We Go Wrong?", which just missed the R&B top-40 at #42. Landing her own solo record deal (as the Manhattans were ending their tenure at Columbia), Regina released her debut album a year later. The first single from the set, "Show Me The Way", climbed to #2 on Billboard's R&B chart and #68 on their pop Hot 100. Later that year, she teamed up with Peabo Bryson for the first time for a soundtrack duet, but this time it would be for one of the worst mainstream films of all time, Bill Cosby's Leonard, Pt. 6. Nevertheless, the Diane Warren-penned "Without You" would give Regina her first adult contemporary hit at #8, and also got to the pop (#89) and soul (#14) lists.
In 1989, Regina would put out her sophomore effort Stay With Me in 1989. After the lead track for radio from the album, the duet "All I Want Is Forever" from the movie Tap with J.T. Taylor of Kool and the Gang hit #2 R&B/#34 Adult Contemporary but missing the pop chart, it would be the seductive "quiet storm" classic "Baby Come To Me" that brought pop radio on board. Written by producer Narada Michael Walden along with Jeffrey Cohen, the single thankfully departed from the former's cold production of his 80s work...
While "Baby Come To Me" became Belle's first #1 R&B hit in America, the single stopped down at #60 on Billboard's pop chart in November of 1989.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Here's Regina putting a stellar performance of "Baby Come To Me" at the Soul Train Awards in 1990...
...and finally a more uptempo concert take from that same year...
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