Songoftheday 10/17/19 - There are few things that's forever my lady, we can make war or make babies...
from the CD/vinyl single (1995)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 13
Today's song of the day comes from rapper Clifford Smith, aka Method Man, who had been part of the influential and seminal hip-hop groups, the Wu-Tang Clan. With the Clan, on their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers), their first success was actually named for him, "Method Man". The track hit #40 on Billboard's R&B chart and #69 on the American official pop Hot 100. In 1994 he released his first solo record Tical, and the lead single from it, "Bring The Pain", nearly made the pop top-40 at #45 while going to #30 on the R&B list. The second release from the set, "Release Yo' Delf", had uncredited singer Blue Raspberry interpolate Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" on the chorus. It squeaked on to the pop Hot 100 at #98, while "bubbling under" the R&B list at #107.
The third and final offering from the record would be a complete overhaul of one of the other Tical tracks. The original, "All I Need", was a dark but peppy rap excursion that instrumentally interpolated the hook from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need To Get By"...
For the single release, Method hired on Mary J. Blige, who had recently scored two top-40 pop hits from her own sophomore effort My Life, "Be Happy" and "I'm Goin' Down". With Blige singing the complete line from the chorus, the new version was retitled "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By". The RZA-mixed "Razor Sharp Version" was a major crossover success, drawing in fans of the rapper as well as soul fans of the oldies' like "You're All I Need"...
"I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" became Method's first and biggest top-40 pop hit, climbing all the way to #3. The song also spent three weeks at #1 on Billboard's R&B chart as well. Internationally, the single peaked at #10 in the UK, and reached the top-40 in New Zealand (#22) and Germany (#36). The single would win Method and Blige a Grammy Award for Best Duo/Group Rap Performance. He would return later that year with the film The Show with Redman and land a second album.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Here's the almost "Puff Daddy" long version (actually done by the Trackmasters)...
Here's the pair appearing live on MTV's Anniversary Special in 2001...
and lastly, in concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York City...
Up tomorrow: R&B newcomer is just joking, she says.
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