For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to take it back it 1987 and give some flowers to Mr. Miles Jaye. The first time I felt the lyrics to Jaye’s hit “I’ve Been A Fool For You” was when I was 24. During this time, I was stationed in England and spent a lot of time watching DVD Box Sets of TV series.
Season 1 of A Different World was one such show. The character of Jaleesa takes bets on how Dwayne will act when a graduate student tries to seduce him, in the episode “Does He, or Doesn’t He?”. Throughout the episode, we see how Dwayne reacts when being played for a fool. Now while Dwayne wasn’t in a relationship with the graduate student the lyrics of the song tie into how he feels. Throughout five minutes Jaye effectively croons :
“We had a chance to find true love
And make it last forever
From the first dance
I knew it was just you and I, together
What made you try those childish games?
What made you want to use me?
So now today, we’re not the same
And you’re about to lose me”.
World-renowned producer Dexter Wansel produced the song, and it would feel right at home with the production he was doing for Philadelphia International in the seventies. We must remember that one thing to remember is never to judge a book by its cover. As music historians know, Jaye was once a member of The Village People. No one could have predicted that a singer with a soulful voice could bring us such a poignant song. This song is about a situation we have all been through at some point in our lives.
Final Grade: B+
“I’ve Been A Fool For You” is available on all streaming platforms
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.