R&B group New Edition was at crossroads in the summer of 1987. The group’s fourth album, Under the Blue Moon, and their only one as a quartet, had only achieved gold sales. Those numbers were very different from the platinum sales of their previous two albums.
Nevertheless, the group was one of their label’s most popular acts. Label head Jheryl Busby had big plans for the group and would bring in producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and vocalist Johnny Gill to give the group a mature sound.
However, before working with Gill, NE built chemistry with Jam & Lewis for the lovely ballad. “Helplessly In Love.” Originally appearing on the soundtrack to 1987’s Dragnet, the song production was textbook Jam & Lewis, which perfectly accompanied the maturing tenors of group members Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell.
The double R connection sounds excellent together as they croon:
“Never knew the closing of a door
Could open up a heart
Since the day we met I needed you
(needed you)
In my life
To do and say the things that I
Needed to feel and hear
I’m just
Helplessly in love
(ooh)
Don’t know what to do, I’m
Helplessly in love
And the love in my heart
Is for you.”
A long-time favorite among NE fans, “Helplessly in Love” is one song that I wish they would add back to their concert setlist. While I was fortunate enough to hear Ralph perform it live during his stint with Heads of State (a side project with NE members Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown), I would love to hear it performed with Ricky Bell. “Helplessly in Love” was a perfect preview of the chemistry that Jam & Lewis would build with the New Edition collection.
Final Grade: A
“Helplessly in Love” is available on all streaming platforms.
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.
R&B singer Tank has been in the music industry for over two decades. He is currently on the road with R&B legends Guy and Keith Sweat as one of the opening acts for New Edition’s Legacy Tour. Despite Tank’s pen game and impressive catalog, some eighties babies weren’t keen on Tank as part of the tour.
The production teams of McFadden & Whitehead and Gamble & Huff of Philadelphia International Records stand out for me because they have always brought something unique to the table. So for this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I decided to give flowers to the self-titled debut album from McFadden & Whitehead.
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