Songoftheday 9/9/21 - Been checkin' you for so long and I feel, girl you should let me know what the deal...

 

 

"If You (Lovin' Me)" - Silk

from the album Tonight (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 15

 

Today's song comes from the R&B group Silk, who had a massive hit with their #1 Hot 100 pop single "Freak Me" in the spring of 1993, followed by the double-sided top-40 successes of "Girl U For Me" and "Lose Control". However, when they returned in 1995 with their eponymous sophomore effort, it was a different story, with the album stalled under the top-40 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and the lead single "Hooked On You" stopping at #54 on the Hot 100 and #12 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart. (I rather liked the song, FWIW.) It took four years for Silk to regroup for their third record for Elektra Records, Tonight. The first release from the record was "If You (Lovin' Me)", written by the team of producer Darryl Allamby, Lincoln Browder, Kenneth Dickerson, and Antoinette Roberson. The track had the downtempo cadence of a booty call record (much like "Freak Me"), augmented by spacey synths that frame their carnal come-ons. This time it worked for their fans, finding themselves but with their biggest hit since that #1 smash. I know I'm not the intended audience for this, but in the end this song was completely forgettable to me, even after rewatching the video, with the requisite no shirt opened suit jackets...

"If You (Lovin' Me)" became Silk's third, and so far last, top-40 pop hit in April of 1999. The song also returned the group to the top ten on Billboard's R&B chart at #4. Internationally, the single was a top-40 hit in New Zealand at #28. The Tonight album, released in March of that year, climbed to #21 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #8 on their R&B Albums distillation of the list, going on to sell over a million copies.

Silk's follow-up single, "Meeting In My Bedroom", was also written by Allamby and Browder. It followed the same pattern as "If You" albeit with a very annoying falsetto lead, and while it made it to #15 on the R&B chart, the song stopped at #62 on the pop Hot 100, as of now their most recent placing there. A third release from Tonight, "Let's Make Love", from Allamby, Browder, and Roberson, tried the formula again this time over an R. Kelly-like beat, but stalled at #58 on the R&B chart. 

The group returned in 2001 with their fourth and final disc for Elektra Records, Love Session. While the set went to #20 on the Billboard 200, and #2 on Billboard's R&B Albums list, it sold considerably less than Tonight did. Despite a big push from the label with a high-tech video, lead single "We're Callin' U" didn't get any higher than #56 on the R&B chart, and Silk left Elektra, as member Gary Jenkins left the group.

The remaining four in Silk came back in 2003 with Silktime on their own independent label. The album spent a week on the Billboard 200 at #178, and peaked at #30 on the R&B albums list. The lead track from the set,  a remake of the 70's R&B classic from Blue Magic, "Side Show", went to #66 on the R&B Singles chart, their most recent appearance there.

Since then, Silk has released two more studio albums, with Jenkins reuniting with the group for their most recent set from 2016, Quiet Storm. In 2017, they backed up Keith Sweat on his single "Tonight", which went to #10 on Billboard's older-skewing Adult R&B radio format chart. 

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Here's Silk performing "If You" live at the Apollo in 1999...

Up tomorrow: Above-mentioned king of new jack swing comes unprepared.