For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to feature a rarely mentioned duet between two late R&B legends. Teddy Pendergrass was already one of the premier voices in R&B when his duet “Hold Me” with future superstar Whitney Houston hit the airwaves in 1984. While Teddy P had a successful solo career on the Philadelphia International label, releasing five successive platinum albums (a record for an African-American R&B performer at the time), he moved to Asylum Records for his eighth album, Love Language.
Songs from the album were featured heavily on the soundtrack to the 1984 romantic comedy Choose Me, one of which is this week’s pick for Slow Jam Saturday. Linda Creed and Michael Masser wrote the song, while Masser also oversaw production. A gentle and lush arrangement opens the song before Pendergrass croons:
“I’ll hold you, and touch you
And make you my woman
And give you my love with sweet surrender
Tonight our hearts will beat as one
And I will hold you, touch you
And make you my woman tonight”.
Houston then comes before the second verse belting There’s something in your eyes I see A pure and simple honesty”. Listeners were treated to a preview of things to come from Houston’s angelic voice in the second verse as she sang:
“I believe you when you say that you love me
Know that I won’t take you for granted
Tonight the magic has begun
So won’t you hold me, touch me
Make me your woman tonight”.
Pendergrass’s vocal compliments of each other are second to none. When I hear the lyrics to the song at age 41, there are so many levels to the song. Whether it’s a first dance wedding song or experiencing intimacy for the first time, it’s a personal favorite of mine from both artists. Pendergrass would continue his career until his 2007 retirement, while all Mrs. Houston was only one year away from taking the music industry by storm. While I doubt the song will appear in Houston’s upcoming biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody; it was the perfect choice for Slow Jam Saturday.
Final Grade: A
Hold Me is available on all streaming platforms.
From his early days in the family group Wings of Faith, Mr. Gill was born to make music. However, as R&B fans know, Johnny Gill’s initial release with Atlantic Records failed to make a significant impact when it first came out. The 1983 self-titled debut showed a strong voice struggling to adapt to a studio that couldn’t properly utilize its power.
My introduction to Myron was with the song “Sistas” on the “Eddie” soundtrack in the summer of 1996. Before setting up his solo album, Myron would write classics for Mya and Dru Hill. “Destiny” was written by Myron and Tyrice Jones, and the latter was also producing. Set to a sample of Herbie Hancock’s “Come Running to Me”, the song explores how fate governs the formation of connections between people meant to exist from the beginning.
Music producers transitioning to a solo album is common in the music industry. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit Sean Garrett’s solo debut, “Turbo 919,” released in 2008.