Songoftheday 10/8/20 - I'd give a life time of stability, anything you want of me, nothing is impossible ...

 

 

"For You" - Kenny Lattimore

from the album Kenny Lattimore (1996)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 6

 

Today's song of the day comes from soul singer Kenny Lattimore, who got his start as a member of the vocal group Maniquin, who released one unnoticed album before disbanding and letting Kenny go solo. In 1994, still with the group's label Columbia, Lattimore released his self-titled debut album in 1996. The lead single from the record, "Never Too Busy", landed the singer his first top-40 R&B hit at #19, while slipping on to the pop Hot 100 in Billboard magazine at #89. That was followed by "Just What It Takes", which stalled down at #55 on the R&B list. But it would be the third try that would get Lattimore his first (and pretty much only) mainstream radio attention. "For You", a straightforward love ballad written by Kenny Lerum and produced by Barry Eastmond (best known for his work with Billy Ocean), delivered a technically well-executed performance that was definitely wedding-reception ready...

"For You" became Lattimore's first and so far only top-40 pop hit in May of 1997. The song became his biggest R&B hit, landing in the top ten at #5 on Billboard's genre list. The Kenny Lattimore album placed at #92 on the Billboard 200 sales chart, while going to #19 on the R&B-specific list, going on to sell over a half-million copies.

Lattimore came back in 1998 with his second record The Soul Of A Man. The first commercial single had two songs reach the R&B chart, with the bouncy "Days Like This" reaching #84 followed by "If I Lose My Woman" which did much better at #50. Three years later, he returned with his third effort Weekend, with the smooth mid-tempo title track landing another R&B chart hit at #51. In the mid-naughties, Kenny recorded a pair of collaborative albums with Chante Moore, one of which - 2003's Things That Lovers Do - became his sole album to reach the Billboard 200 top-40 at #31. In 2012, he placed his most recent mainstream R&B hit with "Find A Way", which crested at #55. During that time he's done much better at the older-skewing "Adult R&B" or "urban contemporary" radio format, racking up sixteen charting singles there, including his most recent, "Stay On Your Mind", which went to #7 there in 2017. That was from his most recent studio album, Vulnerable, in 2017.

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Here's Kenny performing "For You" for TVOne's Unsung series...

Up tomorrow: R&B duo want you to clear the premises.