Vocalist Michael Cooper had already displayed his talents in the vocal group Con Funk Shun. He then blessed fans with his solo debut, Love Is Such a Funny Game, in 1987. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to give Cooper flowers for that album’s second single, “Dinner For Two.”
Cooper’s authoritative yet passionate tenor is enhanced by a thumping bassline, a sax introduction, and silky background vocals, which combine to form a compelling vocal ethos. Lyrically, the song tells us about a man expressing his desire to take a woman he is interested in out on a date. It is a romantic song with lyrical imagery of a romantic dinner for two in a cozy cafe, with wine, music, and sweet serenading.
He expresses his love for her and how she has “excited his heart and soul” and made him “feel so real.” He wants to show her his love and affection. The song culminates with him asking the woman if he can pick her up in his car so they can have dinner for two. Almost forty years later, the song is still a romantic slow jam capturing the feeling of falling in love.
Final Grade: A
“Dinner For Two” from Love Is Such a Funny Game is available on all streaming platforms.
While The Temptations miniseries is a classic, one of my most significant issues with the film was the lack of attention given to Dennis Edwards, who was the voice of one of the group’s biggest hits in the seventies. That said, I decided to give Mr. Edwards his flowers this week.
R&B duo Ruff Endz burst onto the scene in the summer of 2000 with back-to-back hits in the form of “No More” and “Where Does Love Go.” from their debut album, Love Crimes. The group followed those singles up with the smash hit “Someone To Love You,” which made an appearance on the soundtrack to Chris Rock’s film Down To Earth.
In the year 2023, if you were to count the number of singing competitions that emerged after the success of American Idol in 2002, you might run out of fingers. One constant from all of the shows is that they rarely produce a male R&B singer who becomes a force in the genre.
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