Songoftheday 8/3/19 - The twenty second of loneliness and we've been through so many things...
from the album CrazySexyCool (1994)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 29
Today's song of the day comes from the R&B/Hip-Hop trio TLC, whose debut album Ooooooh...On The TLC Tip had scored them four mighty pop hits with "Hat 2 Da Back" along with three that made the top ten in "What About Your Friends", "Ain't To Proud 2 Beg", and "Baby-Baby-Baby", the latter also topping Billboard magazine's R&B chart. After that, they contributed a cover of the Time song "Get It Up" for the movie Poetic Justice, but that single stopped short of the pop top-40 by a couple of notches. So the pressure was on for their upcoming sophomore album CrazySexyCool. Also, member Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes had gotten herself in quite a jam when in a fit of rage with boyfriend Andre Rison she infamously threw the football players' shoes in a tub and set it on fire, ending up burning the entire McMansion down. So she had to spend the recording of the album partly in rehab and probation for this, putting more of the burden on T-Boz and Chilli, which made the set more soul and less R&B in nature. Such was with the lead single "Creep". Written by producer Dallas Austin, the song was different in that it told the lady's tale of seeking love outside of a relationship that was stale. And those silky pajamas are still iconic, immediately recognizable if you wore them to any Halloween party...
"Creep" overcame any "sophomore slump", becoming the group's first #1 pop hit in January of 1995. The song also was TLC's biggest R&B hit, spending nine weeks at #1. Internationally, the single made the top ten in New Zealand (#4), the UK (#6), and Ireland (#9). It also reached the top-40 in the Netherlands (#19), Australia (#20), France (#23), Switzerland (#26), and Germany (#39). Surprisingly, "Creep" stalled right at #41 in Canada. At the Grammy Awards in 1996, "Creep" won for best R&B Duo/Group Vocal Performance, while losing Best R&B Song to Stevie Wonder's "For Your Love" (mind you, TLC's next single "Red Light Special" was also nominated, possibly splitting the votes). And the CrazySexyCool album won the trophy for Best R&B Album.
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Before the video everyone remembers from MTV, this clip from Lionel Martin was shot and rejected by the record company...
Here's the alternate "DARP" remix of the track which included a rap verse from Left-Eye which warned of the dangers of the said "Creepin'"...
In 1996, alternative rockers the Afghan Whigs recorded a notable cover of "Creep" for an EP...
And back to TLC live in Japan in 1999...
And a year later on their Fanmail tour, wearing those pajamas...
In 2016, actress/singer Zendaya released the single "Something New" featuring Chris Brown which sampled "Creep". The song went to #93 on the American Hot 100 pop chart, while peaking at #27 on the R&B chart...
And finally, TLC appeared on the kids show All That to promote the single (!), and here's all the footage including their performance...
Up tomorrow: A British soul singer offers some motivation.
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