Chicago native Jody Watley was on fire in the late 80s. The former dancer on Soul Train and vocalist for Shalamar scored a #2 smash hit in 1987 with her first solo single, "Looking For A New Love." Two additional Top 10 hits would follow from her self-titled debut album: "Don't You Want Me" (#6) and "Some Kind Of Lover" (#10). Her sophomore effort, 1989's "Larger Than Life," kept the hits coming with three more reaching the Top 10, including "Real Love" (#2), "Friends" (#9), and "Everything" (#4). Watley's hot streak then came to an abrupt end, save a minor hit in 1992 when "I'm The One You Need" landed at #19. Her debut record yielded plenty of hits, but it is still surprising that "Learn To Say No," which features another superstar, George Michael, isn't more widely known. It is a great team effort by two of the 80s biggest talents that deserves more attention.
Shalamar was a funk, rock, and pop outfit that scored their first chart appearance in 1977 when "Uptown Festival (Part 1)" reached #25. They reached the Top 10 a few years later with "The Second Time Around," which peaked at #8. The band enjoyed a few other forgotten highlights along the way, including "Dead Giveaway," which reached #22, and "Dancing In The Sheets," which reached #17 and was featured in the movie Footloose. The group's last chart appearance was when "Amnesia" stalled at #73 in 1984. Jody Watley would soon depart for a successful solo career.
André Cymone played bass for Prince until striking out on a solo career in 1981 with his debut, "Living' In The New Wave". The album didn't chart, but it contained one of his best known songs, "Kelly's Eyes", which bubbled under at #107 in 1983. After two other albums, "Survivin' in the 80's" (which reached #185) and "A.C." (which reached #121), Cymone maintained a successful career writing and producing songs for his wife, Jody Watley, and several other well-known artists. He reignited his solo career with a new album called "The Stone" in 2014.
