Songoftheday 4/25/19 - I see the questions in your eyes I know what's weighing on your mind, You can be sure I know my heart...
from the album All-4-One (1994)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (eleven weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 26
Today's song of the day comes from the soul/pop vocal group All-4-One, who had nabbed themselves a big pop hit in the spring of 1994 with an acappella remake of the doo-wop classic "So Much In Love". Their next single would be another cover, but of a more recent song. "I Swear", written by Gary Baker and Frank Myers, was originally released on country singer John Michael Montgomery's second album Kickin' It Up. It was a massive hit on country radio, spending a month at #1 on Billboard magazine's airplay chart, and eventually ended up the top country single of 1994. The song also almost made the pop top-40, peaking at #42...
Atlantic Records brought in soft-rock king David Foster to produce All-4-One's version, which just drops the acoustic instruments for synths and focuses on the group's voices...
All-4-One's take on "I Swear" ended up spending eleven weeks at #1 starting in May of 1994. The song also spent a week at #3 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, while peaking at #13 on their R&B genre list. Internationally, the single took seven weeks at #2 in the UK, while topping the singles charts in Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria, and Denmark. It also made the top 10 in France (#2), Belgium (#2), Norway (#2), Ireland (#3), and Finland (#6). Their cover of "I Swear" won the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Group Performance the following year.
Despite the massive success of "I Swear" in America, they weren't initially able to capitalize on that momentum with anything else from their debut album. Third single "Breathless", an attempt to incorporate "gangsta rap" sounds in the mix, only managed to "bubble under" the pop Hot 100 at #105 while stalling at #66 on the R&B chart. The fourth offering did a bit better; "(She's Got) Skillz", which spent 20 weeks on the pop chart, only got to #57 though (and #49 R&B). Meanwhile Down Under the track "Something About You" was a top-20 hit in New Zealand at #20. (It might have been a better fit in America instead.)
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Here's the group appearing on a Top Of The Pops in 1994...
In 2010, the German singing competition Popstars released a single with the manufactured girl-group LaVive covering the song with Gary Baker. It was a minor hit there at #68...
Back to All-4-One performing "I Swear" in concert in 2008...
And finally, All-4-One and John Michael Montgomery getting together to sing "I Swear" in 2016...
Up tomorrow: Dr. Dre's brother and Snoop Dogg's Cousin go Above The Rim to control things.
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