Songoftheday 3/27/21 - I will never find another lover sweeter than you, and I will never find another lover more previous than you...

 

 

"All My Life" - K-Ci & JoJo

from the album Love Always (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 34

 

Today's song of the day comes from brotherly soul singers K-Ci & JoJo (Hailey), who left their new jack swing group Jodeci behind to strike out on their own, landing their first top-40 pop hit in the summer of 1997 with "You Bring Me Up", from their first duo album Love Always.  They also were of part of the R&B "supergroup" Milestone, who reached the top-40 with the one-off release "I Care 'Bout You" from the Soul Food soundtrack. However the second single from Love Always, "Last Night's Letter", was released at the same time, and while it climbed to #15 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart, the single stalled just under the pop top-40 at #46. The tide turned, though, with their third release, "All My Life". Written by JoJo with Rory Bennett, the love ballad was their most radio-friendly release to date, with a wedding-reception ready schmaltz delivered with two of the best singers of the time in their genre. 

"All My Life" became the siblings' biggest pop hit, with or without Jodeci, spending a trio of weeks at #1 in April of 1998. The song was also their sole #1 R&B hit as lead artists, taking a pair of weeks there. The ballad was even a decent hit on "easy listening" radio, reaching #26 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio chart, and #35 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format list. Internationally, the single topped the charts in Australia, The Netherlands, and New Zealand, and made the top ten in Norway (#2), Belgium (#3F/#11W), Denmark (#3), Sweden (#4), Switzerland (#4), Germany (#5), Canada (#8), and the UK (#8). At the Grammy Awards in 1999, "All My Life" was nominated for Best R&B Duo/Group Vocal Performance, losing to Brandy and Monica's "The Boy is Mine", as well as Best R&B Song, which went to Lauryn Hill for "Doo Wop (That Thing)". 

A fourth song from the record, "Don't Rush (Take Love Slowly)", went to #24 on the R&B chart as the "B-Side" of "All My Life", while not being listed on the pop Hot 100 (not sure of the logistics with that). It actually was my favorite cut on the album.

(5/10)

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Here's K-Ci and JoJo singing live on a promo appearance...

and lastly, on Motown Live...

Up tomorrow: Female trio talks about the weather.