Songoftheday 2/9/21 - There are times when I look above and beyond, there are times when I feel your love around me baby...

 

 

"Together Again" - Janet Jackson

from the album The Velvet Rope (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 34

 

Today's song of the day comes from Janet Jackson, who led her stellar Velvet Rope album off on radio with the non-commercial "single" "Got 'Til It's Gone", which made the top-40 of Billboard's Hot 100 pop airplay chart in the fall of 1997. The first "official" commercial single from the record would be the bittersweet grooves of "Together Again". Written by Jackson with longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was inspired by a friend of hers who had passed from AIDS. But instead of a solemn dirge, they created a joyous yet reflective morning after the club jam that looks forward to the time she will see them again (which means she'll be dead). The use of positive, melodies over a smooth house music that vacillates between major and minor chords really makes this an accessible cut for a dance track. Nevertheless, the song was pretty groundbreaking at the time for a major music star even slightly referencing the ongoing AIDS crisis in a major single. While urban stations weren't as keen to the track (and that's a whole other topic), her fans and mainstream radio made up the difference...

"Together Again" returned Jackson to the #1 spot on the pop chart in America for the eighth time in January of 1998. The song peaked at #8 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart, while slipping on to the older-skewing Adult Top-40 radio list at #29 (again, a sign of possibly prejudiced programmers). The remixes of the track helped it top Billboard's Dance Club Play chart for a week as well. Internationally, the single topped the charts in the Netherlands, Hungary, and Poland, and reached the top ten in Canada (#2), France (#2), Germany (#2), Switzerland (#2), Belgium (#2), the UK (#4), Australia (#4), Spain (#4), Ireland (#4), Denmark (#4), Italy (#5), New Zealand (#5), Austria (#6), and Sweden (#9).

 

(9/10)

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A separate music video was made for "Deeper Remix", which transforms the track into a slow jam with new vocals. It was filmed by Jackson's husband Rene Elizondo...
 

And here's the club remix from Tony Moran that helped the song top the dance chart for a week...

Next up, Janet on her Velvet Rope tour with "Together Again"...

Jackson performed the song using DJ Premier's hip-hop mix) at the 1998 American Music Awards...

 

and finally, live at the Concert for New York City in 2001...

Up tomorrow: Danish dolls get into the sweets.