Archive » Top 100 Soul/R&B Songs

#66: The Gap Band 'Outstanding'

 

It goes without saying that if it were not for this track that provided the backdrop for many trips down memory lane, Charlie Wilson would not have been able to stage his late '90's comeback. "Outstanding" is one of those tracks that makes you feel warm and fuzzy from the moment you hear the bass line drop in the beginning of the song. If it were not for Stevie Wonder, whom Wilson has credited as a musical influence, we would not have the near falsetto infused with intricate melisma that Wilson and Wonder are both known for. In turn, if it weren't for Charlie Wilson, the influence of Aaron Hall and R. Kelly on contemporary R&B, as much of a disappointment as it is, would not have taken root with today's young stars. Interestingly, it wasn't until their sixth album that The Gap Band achieved critical success, and not until 1983 that this track dropped. "Outstanding" is the type of song that can turn gray skies to blue, crushes into love, and water into wine. Especially the extended version. Not dancing to this song when it comes on is equivalent to musical blasphemy. So go ahead, dance by yourself. We won't tell.

ill Mami  |  05/16/2008 at 5:00 PM  |  Comments (3)  |  Permalink

#67: Michael Jackson 'I Can't Help It'

 

This is the Michael Jackson so many of us long for. It should come as no surprise that Stevie Wonder was involved in "I Can't Help It," a track that has seen remakes and reiterations by Davina, Mary J. Blige, and De La Soul. "I Can't Help It," in spirit, lives on sister Janet's "Can't B Good," further illustrating its relevance and gentle majesty.

There's something in the creeping bassline that kicks the song off and the simple A-B A-B scheme of the lyrics that makes the song instantly alluring. Also, there's something to be said for MJ's slow jams. Most of them to this day hold up extremely well and don't sound as dated as his uptempo tracks. Especially this one, an understated gem on an album packed with Disco burners.

Michael Jackson: "I Can't Help It"

nOvaMatic  |  05/15/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (9)  |  Permalink

#68: Stevie Wonder 'Overjoyed'

 

This will be the third time Stevie is mentioned on our countdown and is it any wonder (zing)? He's probably the greatest songwriter of our time. Few (and this includes his peers) are able to reach into a listener's soul the way he does and touch every single emotion objective to the composition. Listening to a Stevie Wonder song, particularly this one, is to feel like you are surrounded by light and love. He's a magician that way.

"Overjoyed" was originally intended for Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, but was thankfully salvaged for In Square Circle. In Stevie's hands, an idea as typical as pining and planning for your true love is so overwhelmingly beautiful it's damn-near otherworldly. The arrangement is at once careful and gentle, then evolves into something that soars, making the listener feel victorious as if the goal has been achieved. But, in the end, there is only hope, and the refusal to let the odds dictate romance's course. The words alone can make the most jaded player break down and cry.

nOvaMatic  |  05/14/2008 at 5:00 PM  |  Comments (4)  |  Permalink

#69: Mary J. Blige 'Love No Limit'

 

To say that I'm a big Mary J. Blige fan would be an understatement. If you look back to 1992 and everyone else that was thriving at that time, then look at today, who's still standing? Growing Pains did 629k in its first week. As the vocal sample in "No One Else" says, "There is no competition..."

What's the 411? debuted in a year that also saw the release of Ooooooohhh...On the TLC Tip and SWV's It's About Time. All three of them employed a heavy dose of street appeal and Hip-Hop beats. But what set Mary's album apart was how she was able to ease out of the baggy jeans to capture the raw Soul of those that came before her, namely Chaka Khan. The Dave Hall-helmed "Love No Limit," specifically, seemed like a track better suited for the likes of Anita Baker, with a jazzy arrangement that primed it for Adult Contemporary radio. Even at such an early stage in her career, with everyone touting her as the consummate B-Girl (and eventual "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul," which would land her on the cover of The Source), Mary showed a versatility and a level of comfort in any musical setting that few since her debut have been able to emulate, no matter how hard they tried.

nOvaMatic  |  05/13/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (7)  |  Permalink

#70: Sade 'Stronger Than Pride'

 

When Sade debuted in 1984 with their instant classic Diamond Life, theirs was a sound and look that was unlike anything in the musical landscape at that time. They were instantly labeled a jazz band, but it many have been the ethereal beauty and otherworldly voice of its frontwoman Helen Folasade Adu (or Sade for short) that made this band have such crossover appeal. Prior to "Stronger Than Pride" from their 1988 album of the same name, their biggest hit was "Sweetest Taboo." Back in these days, eons of time did not have to pass in between Sade albums, so when "Stronger Than Pride" dropped, it was the balm that the people, after being victimized by the "Me Decade" and Reganomics so desperately needed. If you had never experienced falling in love prior to hearing this song, it did not diminish your liking of it. It only meant that once you had experienced the tribulation of loving and had lost, your understanding of the words "I can't hate you/ Though I have tried/ I still really, really love you/ Love is stronger than pride" mean that much more. Sade went on a four-year hiatus before giving us Love Deluxe, but thankfully they gave us this song as well as others on Stronger Than Pride to provide the music for all those times when we loved, lost, and yearned for more.  

ill Mami  |  05/12/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (6)  |  Permalink

#71: Refugee All-Stars Featuring Lauryn Hill 'The Sweetest Thing'

 

You may remember the song "The Sweetest Thing" as just one of the many gems from the 1997 Love Jones motion picture soundtrack. I remember this song as the first time I actually thought Lauryn Hill was sexy. I mean, yes, I always thought she was a pretty dope rapper, playing off of, if not outshining, her Fugees brethren at every turn. But dammit, this was different. This was the perfect blend of voice and lyric, Lauryn giving acoustic accolades to her "sweet prince of the ghetto," letting anyone who cared to know about his intoxicating, amaretto-flavored kisses. Yup, sexy. We'd heard her sing before, on "Killing Me Softly" and back in the day in the movie Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, but this right here was a precursor to the solo artist we would fall head over heels for a year later with the release of her debut CD. The sweetest thing, indeed.

Harlem  |  05/09/2008 at 5:00 PM  |  Comments (7)  |  Permalink

#72: Rufus & Chaka 'Do You Love What You Feel?'

 

What would our countdown be without this little ditty produced by one Quincy Jones? Rufus & Chaka's "Do You Love What You Feel" can still turn a party out, coming in with a bpm of 120 that allows DJs to blend it in and out of Dance sets with ease. It comes from the Masterjam album, which saw the return of Khan to Rufus after the Chaka-free Numbers didn't live up to the band's earlier success. Full disclosure: Chaka is one of my favorite screamers. Her powerhouse vocals paired with the track's funky percussion and requisite "disco whistle" easily makes this one of the best feel-good tracks of the late '70s and a current favorite that is still in my own personal rotation.

If this song doesn't make you dance, you have no pulse.

nOvaMatic  |  05/08/2008 at 5:00 PM  |  Comments (8)  |  Permalink

#73: Aaliyah 'One In A Million'

 

Hooking up with Timbaland was easily the smartest move Aaliyah Dana Haughton ever made. If Age Ain't Nuthin' but A Number was for the Jeeps, then One in A Million was for the Ninjas. "If Your Girl Only Knew" was a reintroduction to the girl we remembered as having a very special relationship with R. Kelly, but the title track from her second LP gave us something a bit more aggressive, sexy and unique. The beat alone was a clear sign Aaliyah had something out of this world up her sleeve, and when paired with Missy Elliott's simple yet effective songwriting, the trinity paved the way for relentless biting the better part of the late '90s and early 2000s. Shockingly, "One in A Million" would not rise as high on the charts as the single the preceded it, but anyone reading this can attest to its dopeness and overall superiority.

nOvaMatic  |  05/07/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (7)  |  Permalink

#74: Wham! Featuring George Michael 'Careless Whisper'

 

On a countdown like this, where we're committed to listing our favorite soul and R&B tracks, a song like "Careless Whisper" is a must.  Not only because it's straight rhythm and blues, but also because it epitomizes what the genre used to be all about, long before everything started becoming compartmentalized and segregated.  While working as an usher in a London cinema house in 1981, George Michael, along with his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, wrote this ode to lost love that became certified 3x platinum over the years. 

When the single was originally released in the UK in 1984 as a Michael solo track, it only took a week before it catapulted all the way to the number one spot on the charts, where it stayed for three weeks.  Later, it reached the top of the charts in seventeen different countries, including the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985, where it was released as Wham! featuring George Michael.  The song also ranked atop Billboard's year-end chart for 1985.  Here's some useless yet interesting trivia: The soaring saxaphone riff that defines the song was written by Michael as he boarded a bus heading home from work.  And it orginally had words.  And no, the words were never revealed, with Michael only stating in an interview once that they were "poorly written lyrics".  Good stuff.  Great song.

Harlem  |  05/06/2008 at 6:00 PM  |  Comments (5)  |  Permalink