Songoftheday 2/19/19 - Girl, when I first met you I didn't realize you were looking to stay around, but I was looking to play around now I can't forget you...
from the album Faithful (1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10
Today's song of the day come from the R&B vocal group Hi-Five, whose sophomore album Keep It Goin' On lived up to its title spinning off two top-40 pop hits with "Quality Time" and the top five track "She's Playing Hard To Get". In 1993 the quintet returned with their third release, Faithful. The first single from the record, "Unconditional Love", originally came from the soundtrack to the movie Menace II Society; however despite the success of the movie as well as the soundtrack (which made it to #11 on Billboard's Album Sales chart, while topping their R&B Albums chart), the single stalled all the way down at #92 on the American pop chart and #21 on the R&B list. However, the act, led by singer Tony Thompson, rebounded on their next release, the ballad "Never Should've Let You Go". This one also was from a film soundtrack, this time the Sister 2: Back In The Habit film starring Whoopi Goldberg and a very young Lauryn Hill. Penned by Eric Foster White, who wrote their biggest hits, and produced by Keith Miller and an up and coming artist named Joe (Thomas), it would mark their final big pop success, with a smooth, "Babyface-like" swagger that got the women swooning...
"Never Should've Let You Go" became Hi-Five's fifth and final top-40 pop hit in America in December of 1993. The song also climbed to #10 on Billboard's R&B chart. Internationally, the single made it to #38 in New Zealand. A third single from the Faithful album, the title track, missed the pop Hot 100 but climbed to #52 on the R&B list. That was followed by personal fave "What Can I Say To You (To Justify My Love)" with female soul group Nuttin' Nyce, which climbed to #72 on the R&B chart. Hi-Five split up shortly after that.
Thompson would start his own career after that farewell, releasing his first solo album Sexsational in 1995. The lead single, "I Wanna Love Like That", peaked at #14 on the R&B chart and was a minor pop hit at #59. The follow-up, "Handle Our Business", with backing vocals from Blackstreet's Dave Hollister, Made it to #50 on the R&B list. And despite some big names in the writing and production, the album didn't do as well as expected, and he was let go from the label. Despite trying to regroup Hi-Five, with the album The Return, there just wasn't any interest (probably in these days it would've been there). And most sadly, in 2007 Thompson was found dead from huffing freon, ending a prolific career. The rest of the members carried on, releasing an indie disc, Legacy, in 2017.
Up tomorrow: Interracial vocal quartet attributes a couple of qualities to their song.
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