Retro Spins: Jody Watley - Larger Than Life

 

Following the success of her self-titled debut (1987), Jody dug in to co-write eleven of the thirteen tracks for her next album. She continued to work with producer, and co-writer, André Cymone, who once again brings the familiar sounds he adopted from Prince when under his tutelage.

Larger Than Life (1989) would peak at number sixteen on the Billboard 200 upon its release. The single, Real Love, would repeat the history of her previous hit, Looking For A New Love, by also peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by Friends, which peaked at number nine, and the ballad, Everything, which reached number four. It would also be the last top ten hit in her career. Minor hit, Precious Love, would stall at number seventy-eight.

Friends would become a noteworthy track for being the first multiformat hit to incorporate pop music with rap, featuring the duo, Eric B. & Rakim. Its formula became commonplace in pop music, later leading to the Grammys to add the category of Grammy Award for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration in 2002.

Real Love would be noted as the most requested video of all time in 1989 and only be usurped in 1995 by the Michael Jackson / Janet Jackson duet, Scream. The popularity garnered it nominations for seven MTV Video Music Awards in 1989.

I think what I enjoyed most of all about this album was once again finding the forgotten hits from the era. When I first picked up the album in the dollar bin of a used CD shop, I had no idea that with it I would be reunited with the three aforementioned songs.

For the most part, the album continues the dance friendly pop trend of her previous work, while maturing in sound to keep up with the times. In comparison, the track Everything, could have easily been included as a Janet Jackson song from her Rhythm Nation album, which was dominating the charts at this same time. In fact, if you didn't tell me that it was Watley, I may very well could easily mistake the song for one of Jacksons. They have very similar voices.

What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me was another nice surprise to find. However, this would be the only other song which would do this. The remainder of the album played out quite generically, with nothing really popping, or achieving the heights of all the other noted songs. Overall, I got a little bored with it all, and by tracks seven (of thirteen), I was more so focused on how much longer the album was going to go on.

Before the year ended, Jody would release the remix album, You Wanna Dance with Me? This was followed by the music video collection, Video Classics. In 1990, she'd pivot, and release, of all things, a fitness video, Jody Watley's Dance To Fitness.

She'd go on to release a total of five studio albums in the 90's. However, only two of the three would be for MCA (Affairs Of The Heart, and Intimacy). Her latter three saw the artist hopping from Avitone / Bellmark-Life (Affection), to Atlantic (Flower), back to Avitone (The Saturday Night Experience Volume 1). Under Avitone, she'd release her two final albums, 2001's Midnight Lounge, and 2006's The Makeover. Since then, she focuses on releasing EP's, releasing four between 2014 through 2021.

Watley would make headlines in 2014 when it was announced that she had acquired the rights to the name Shalamar. Adding the word, "Reloaded" to the end of it, she set out on several successful package tours with other artists. Acknowledging that the name Shalamar brought with it negative historical baggage, the name would be changed in 2017 to SRL (Soul Revolution Love), and then again to Jody Watley & SRL. This was followed by her cancelling her registration of ownership for the name Shalamar, and her return back to her solo career, for the aforementioned series of EPs. She continues to perform here and there periodically.

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Retro Spins: Jody Watley - Jody Watley

 

Born to choir singer, and radio evangelist, Jody spent her time growing up in a household that frequently entertained high-profile musicians, such as Sam Cooke, Joe Tex, and Jackie Wilson, the latter who became her Godfather. She'd perform with him on-stage at the age of eight, giving her a taste of a future to come. At the age of eleven, she'd form the dance trio, Black Fuzz, where she would hone her skill with the moves.

She would be approached by Parishioner of Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, Glenn Stafford one morning, and presented an offer at the age of fifteen to join him as his dance partner on Soul Train. Watley would become a regular on the program by 1975. After teaming up with dancer, Jeffrey Daniel, she grew in popularity among fans of the show.

In 1976, Don Cornelius and his then business partner Dick Griffey formed Soul Train Records and bought masters for a record called "Uptown Festival", a disco medley of Motown classics that was billed with the name "Shalamar". Gary Mumford would provide lead vocals, with both Watley and Daniels backing him up. While the record would be successful, the label would soon fold. Griffey would form SOLAR Records in 1978, with Shalamar and the Whispers as his first signed artists.

By this point, Mumford had departed from the band and was replaced by Gerald Brown. This trio would record Shalamar's second album, Disco Gardens, which featured Watley's first lead vocal song, Take That To The Bank.

Departing in 1979, Brown would be replaced by new lead singer, Howard Hewett. With Watley and Daniels, this would become the classic lineup of Shalamar from 1979 to 1983. Together, they recorded Big Fun (1979), Three for Love (1980), Go for It (1981), Friends (1982) and The Look (1983). Despite the success that followed, the band members had a lot of contention amongst themselves, which wasn't helped by the lack of payments from SOLAR. Both Watley and Daniel would leave after the subsequent tour for The Look.

Watley relocated to London, and took on session work for multiple acts, such as Musical Youth, Gary Langan, Anne Dudley and J. J. Jeczalik (who later became Art of Noise). She eventually got the chance to record two singles, putting them out under the name Jody in 1984, and would be one of the few American artists, among members of Kool & The Gang, to perform on Bob Geldof's Band Aid project.

Returning to the USA in 1986, Watley would sign with MCA Records, and work with Prince protege André Cymone and Bernard Edwards of the group Chic to complete her self-titled debut, released in 1987. Upon its release, the album would reach number ten on the Billboard 200. The record would spawn three hit singles, Looking For A New Love (peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100), Don't You Want Me (peaking at six), and Some Kind Of Lover (peaking at ten). Minor hits, Still A Thrill, and Most Of All, also evolved. The album also became noteworthy for the George Michael duet, Learn To Say No.

Two Grammy Awards nominations would come at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards in 1988, with Watley winning Best New Artist. However, this came with a bit of controversy, since the artist had technically already released solo work, as noted above. Watley's win was also negatively compared to the Grammy snubs of Whitney Houston and Richard Marx.

With all of that said, it's time to dive into today's Retro Spin.

I purchased Jody Watley's debut album for the song, Looking For A New Love, which was subsequently the opening number. Frankly, I had completely forgotten about the hit, Some Kind Of Lover, and was pleasantly surprised to find it tucked in a couple tracks later. I love finding forgotten memories.

As a whole, the album is very dance friendly, and being produced and co-written by Cymone, adopts a lot of the beats reminiscent of a Prince album from the era. By that, I mean the common beats produced on the Fairlight CMI. This familiarity, coupled with the hits, makes it both easy, and enjoyable to listen to the album.

The George Michael duet was a welcome hidden gem. It was just nice to hear his voice again, while also getting something "new". Keep in mind that Watley's album came out in between the breakup of Wham, and several months before Michael's massive solo album, Faith. So, his future as an artist at this point was in unknown territory.

Overall, the album was enjoyable. However, the majority of the tracks honestly forgettable. Nothing bad, but also nothing beyond the three noted tunes above that were good. Frankly, in typing this, I don't even remember how the Michael / Watley song went, but I have only ever heard it once.

Jody would release her follow-up album, Larger Than Life, in 1989, and while sales would drop considerably from her previous album, would still end the decade on a high note. She would also be among the few artists to survive the 90's, but at this point, we're getting too far ahead. First, we have to stop and play through the aforementioned decade ending album, which will happen tomorrow.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.