Songoftheday 7/15/17 - You need a love that will not change, You want a lover to remain forever yours...
from the album Johnny Gill (1990)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 6
Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Johnny Gill, whose self-titled solo album after the hiatus of New Edition had already spun off two top ten pop hits with "Rub You The Right Way" and "My, My, My". Both of those also had reached #1 on Billboard's R&B chart. The third single released from the album would be the new jack swing jam "Fairweather Friend". Written and produced by the team of Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons, it gave Johnny a third pop hit in a row...
"Fairweather Friend" reached the top-40 (so far his last as a lead solo artist) in December of 1990. The song also climbed to #2 on Billboard's R&B chart. A fourth single from Johnny Gill, another new jack swing number in "Wrap Your Body Tight", returned him to #1 on the R&B chart but stalled down at #84 on the pop Hot 100 (it slipped on to the dance chart at #46 and on to the British singles chart at #57).
The following year, Gill was a featured artist on two top-40 pop hits, Shanice's "Silent Prayer" (#31) and Shabba Ranks' "Slow and Sexy" (#37). In 1993, Gill returned with his Provocative album, with the lead single "The Floor" a minor pop hit at #56 and nearly missing the R&B top ten at #11. Another track from the set, "A Cute, Sweet, Love Addiction", was his last British minor hit at #46.
The period between 1996 and 1997 was a busy one for Gill, starting with another solo album, and second single "It's Your Body" almost making the pop top-40 in the U.S. (#43). He also reunited with New Edition for their Home Again album, which sported a couple of top ten pop hits including the R&B #1 "Hit Me Off" (#3 pop). On top of that, he collaborated on an albums with solo soul stars Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat as LSG, going to #4 with "My Body". Gill released two solo albums since 2010, with his latest, Game Changer, sending four songs to the R&B chart, and current single "5000 Miles" in the top-3 of the Adult R&B format.
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And here's Johnny singing "Fairweather Friend" for a recent radio appearance...
Up tomorrow: Piano man is pretty laid back about things.
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