Songoftheday 4/26/21 - If I had a wish baby I wish he never left you feeling like this 'cause I can feel your pain...

 

 

"Cheers 2 U" - Playa

from the album Cheers 2 U (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (four weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 4

 

Today's song of the day comes from the R&B group Playa,  who came together as young men in the late 1980s in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally named A Touch Of Class, they changed their name before appearing on releases from Jodeci and Timbaland, with the latters' top-40 airplay hit "Luv 2 Luv Ya" being co-written by the trio's Stephen Garrett, aka Static Major. Timbaland would return the favor by being one of the producers on their debut album Cheers 2 U. The first single from the record, "Don't Stop The Music", which made the top-40 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart at #26, and even made the pop Hot 100 at #73. But it would be the second release from the set that would reward Jawaan Peacock, Benjamin Bush, and Garrett their biggest success. "Cheers 2 U", the title track, was written by Garrett and Timbaland, was a neo-soul slow jam in the spirit of Next and Silk's booty-calling gems, but somehow Playa's harmonies are way tighter and the unusual chord changes in the song draw you in more than I thought it would, as they try to convince their girl to leave their abusive man to get with them. The video sets it even further, having all three courting the same woman...

"Cheers 2 U" became Playa's first and only top-40 pop hit, spending a month there in June of 1998. The single climbed all the way to #10 on Billboard's R&B chart as well. The Cheers 2 U album, released in March of 1998, climbed to #86 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #19 on the R&B-specific list. 

Despite that success, this would be their final charting hit as a lead artist. In 2000, they would be one of many featured guests on Kelly Price's single "Love Sets You Free" from the soundtrack to the Denzel Washington movie The Hurricane, which went to #24 on the R&B chart and #91 on the Hot 100. Their label Def Soul was in time tied in with Blackground Records (which Aaliyah's uncle Barry Hankerson ran into the ground), and their attempts at a follow-up never were released. Garrett, however, would continue on with bigger returns as a songwriter, penning hits for Aaliyah like "Are You That Somebody" and "Try Again". Sadly, Garrett passed away from post-surgery complications in 2008, just as his collaboration with rapper Lil' Wayne, "Lollipop", was being released. The single spent five weeks at #1 on the pop chart, and six on the R&B list, just months after his death. 

(7/10)

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Here's the trio appearing live on BET's Planet Groove in 1998...

Up tomorrow: Piano journeywoman scored a hit for Ally McBeal.