The legendary Stevie Wonder had already received his flowers numerous times when the R&B duo Black Coffey covered his lush ballad “Rocket Love” in 2002. The song initially appeared on Wonder’s nineteenth studio album, Hotter than July, which arrived ins stores on September 29, 1980.
Black Coffey was composed of brothers Jason and Clay Coffey, born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Growing up, the brothers developed their passion and talent in music from their early years, singing in church choirs. Eventually, their skills found them signed to Motown. In the spring of 2003, the group’s cover of “Rocket Love” would make its way to the tribute album Conception – An Interpretation Of Stevie Wonder’s Songs. However, the group’s self-titled album never saw the light of day.
The song “Rocket Love” is a beautiful ballad about the Wonder of falling in love only to discover that despite the mutual feelings, the relationship is no longer the same. Similarly to Stevie Wonder’s interpretation of the lyrics of “Rocket Love,” Black Coffey’s version finds the pair nostalgically reflecting on a past relationship that has grown sour over time.
The couple seemed to have reached a point in their relationship when things started to feel like “heaven.” Although she was praised for being “sensitive & warm” and metaphorically took the man on board “her rocket,” she has since let go of him and moved on. The man now feels he has been dropped back into “this cold, cold world” in the wake of this experience. From a visual standpoint, the strong reminds me of the strong that Jacqueline put through after they put Marques through the wringer in Boomerang.
Beautifully, Black Coffey depicts the love and elegance of a woman. In addition, they do not downplay her bitter coldness in any way. Stevie’s lyrics effectively combine themes that relate to the appraisal of this past lover and the description of her indifference in a cohesive manner.
Furthermore, am I the only one who feels that the woman Stevie wrote about in Lately is the same one Stevie wrote about in “Rocket Love”? Black Coffey’s album may not have been released, but their cover of this Stevie classic showed endless potential.
Final Grade: B+
“Rocket Love” from Conception – An Interpretation Of Stevie Wonder’s Songs IS available on all streaming platforms.
One of the great things about buying a soundtrack when I was in my DJ prime was discovering a slow jam that I could put on my mix CDs. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to highlight one of the songs: Jagged Edge’s cover of Air Supply’s, “All Out of Love.”
After twenty-six years in the game, Atlanta-based quartet Jagged Edge is currently on the road celebrating the anniversary of their magnum opus sophomore album, “J.E. Heartbreak,” with a tour titled “An Intimate Evening With Jagged Edge.” To kick off our seventh wedding anniversary celebration, my wife and I will be the D.C. date on the tour this coming Wednesday.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to travel back to 1999 and show some love to R&B group Amyth, which was initially signed to LL Cool J Rock the Bells Records. Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the group was formed in 1995 while the members were students at Southern University.