And Jackson wrings every possible drop of emotion into his performance, without ever overemoting. The chord changes into the bridge are perfect. The music never overwhelms, which for romantic records is key. Freddie Jackson, "Rock Me Tonight" ( Rock Me Tonight, Capitol, 1985)Įverything in this single - the keyboard squiggles in the bridge, the slow-but-sure thumping bassline, the guitar riffs, the steady 4-on-the-floor drum track - accents Jackson's (gorgeous, rich) singing and his lyric. "Rock Me" deals with a universal theme - getting back together with a beloved ex - and does so in a way that, well, who wouldn't want to hear these words from a first love? Sure, the drum track is obviously synthetic, but most of the single's instrumentation is just classy and classic - and it's thanks to that fact (it's fairly consistent throughout Jackson's career) that he'll forever make royalties from airplay on Adult R&B radio stations. "Rock Me Tonight" is a sumptuous slow dance of a record, with timeless lyrics and production that, while it's clearly of the '80s, hasn't really dated. Women swooned at levels normally reserved for the likes of Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass men knew that if they wanted little sumthin'-sumthin', putting on a Freddie Jackson record would increase the odds dramatically in their favor. Vandross, frankly, was too much of a crossover star). Even more profoundly than Frankie Beverly (see below), Freddie was Black America's own, simply because he was a superstar in R&B in a way Beverly's never been (and Mr. And he did it all without ever having a top 10 single on the pop charts his biggest crossover hit never got higher than #12 on the Hot 100 (and I'll address it after 6 more songs). And perhaps most importantly, he almost single-handedly invented what we now know as "quiet storm": his massive popularity and consistency nearly required it be invented just for him ( Anita Baker's similar domination for female artists didn't begin until the following year). Even more impressively, he racked up 8 #1s in just over 4 years (with another pair in the first 6 months of '91, bringing his career total to 10). Freddie Jackson's first R&B charttopper not only gives this blog its name, but was the co-longest-running #1 of '85 at 6 weeks. Rock Me Tonight went on to top the R&B Albums chart for 14 nonconsecutive weeks, and peaked inside the Top 10 on the Billboard 200."Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," Freddie Jackson (6/1/85)įinally, here we are. The success of Rock Me Tonight garnered Jackson a nomination in 1986 for, losing out to. The album contains a cover of the classic '.
The latter two, 'Love Is Just a Touch Away' and 'He'll Never Love You', peaked at Nos. R&B chart, with the first two, 'You Are My Lady' and 'Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)', reaching number one. Released on April 28, 1985, the album yielded four top–10 singles on the U.S. ' Released: AugProfessional ratings Review scores Source Rating Rock Me Tonight is the platinum selling 1985 debut album from American / singer.'s utilization of his vocal skills with much vibrato, which became a signature of his, was very well received. The New York native even undertakes the jazz standard 'Good Morning Heartache' with a mellow but fiery passion. Respectively, the songs peaked at numbers eight and nine after 17 and 14 weeks on the charts.
Gently caresses the lyric with his soothing tenor on the latter. While the beat is aggressive on the former, 's debonair approach to the lyric keeps the song under control. The third and fourth singles were the dance-oriented 'He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)' and the picturesque 'Love Is Just a Touch Away.'įreddie Jackson - Rock Me Tonight. Came right back with 'You Are My Lady,' a romantic and ideal wedding song whose simplicity and substance assisted in its migration to the top spot on the charts, where it had a run of two straight weeks. The song peaked at the number one position, and held it for six straight weeks. It hit the Billboard R&B charts in April 1985, and stayed afloat for 26 weeks. The initial single, 'Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake),' was a very rhythmic ballad with an easy-flowing chorus enhanced by some nostalgic lyrics. Here on his debut album, enjoyed admirable chart success with each of the four singles.
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