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Monday, July 20, 2020

Musical Monday - Baby Come to Me by Patti Austin and James Ingram


#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: February 19, 1983 through February 26, 1983.
#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Never.
#1 on the U.K. Chart: Never.

This is the last song to reach number one before everything in music changed for the rest of the 1980s, and it is a kind of limp, uninteresting song with a memorable chorus. I had actually forgotten everything about this song other than the chorus, because everything else about this song is mediocre at best, and then the chorus rolls around, and everything changes.

The blunt reality is that most of the song is kind of terrible, but every now and then Austin and Ingram return to the chorus and the entire song is elevated far above the turgid music and bland lyrics. There's not much else to say about this song - it is two good singers who were handed material that was about 90% "meh" and 10% sublime, and they do the best one could expect with it. This song is almost two songs: The choruses are great, the rest is a struggle to get through.

Previous Musical Monday: Too Shy by Kajagoogoo
Subsequent Musical Monday: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: Africa by ToTo
Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: Billie Jean by Michael Jackson

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

Patti Austin     James Ingram     1980s Project     Musical Monday     Home

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