Good evening Dialophiles! Tonight, the Radio Dial fine
tunes a frequency from the man who brought us the first platinum selling jazz
LP ever, 1975’s Breezin’! Time to mellow out with George Benson and “Lady
Love Me (One More Time)”!
If you’re askin’ me to say… living life without you girl, is alright… If you really want to know… I’d have to say it’s dangerous, to my mind.
Taken from George’s 1983 In Your Eyes LP, "Lady Love" peaked at US #30 pop, and #21 R&B, but ended up doing much better across the pond, where it peaked at #11 on the UK Singles chart.
Starting with the #10 pop hit “This Masquerade” from the aforementioned Breezin’ LP, (which was one of the first cover tunes I recall taking notice of as a child, as I was quite familiar with the earlier version by The Carpenters), Benson enjoyed a string of top 40 hits including a live rendition of The Drifters’ classic “On Broadway” (a #7 hit in 1978), and the original compositions “Give Me the Night” (#4, ‘80), and “Turn Your Love Around” (#5, ’81). “Lady Love…” would prove to be Benson’s final US hit to peak within the top 40.
Characterized by a playful and carefree, yet sophisticated “Manhattan” vibe, George’s romantic tale details a man who successfully woos his way back into his estranged lover’s arms and heart. I always looked forward to catching any of Benson’s tracks on the radio, and “Lady Love” was no exception. The track is richly layered with George’s smooth and classy vocal delivery, vulnerable, yet romantic lyrics co-authored by Toto’s David Paich, distinctive “whistle-like” keyboard work, and a mid-song monosyllabic repetition that owes a lot to the tradition of “scat singing” popularized by the likes of legends Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway.
Yes, I'm askin' you to stay… Remembering it used to be so right… If you're askin' for the truth… I'd have to say I won't believe it’s goodnight.
Songs like this one contributed greatly to my love of Top 40 radio during my “growing up” years... there was always such a great diversity of music styles on tap. Sure, the format was always dominated by rock and its off-shoots (hard, soft, heartland, folk rock, blues rock), but also swirling around in the mix was soul, dance, new wave, country, novelty ("Stars on 45" and "The Curly Shuffle" spring to mind), and the occasional jazz cross over like Mr. Benson's hit output. There was such a wide cross section of artists and styles, it was almost like attending a music diversity class broadcast over the airwaves.
So keep your frequency locked to the Radio Dial, where we are already hard at work riffling through our extensive archives of vinyl, cassettes, and CDs in order to bring you, the loyal Dialophile, the greatest tracks you’ve forgotten you once loved, or possibly, never even heard the first time out!
So before you turn and walk away, just let me love you one more time, feel your heartbeat close to mine… Lady, love me all the time, lady love me.
If you’re askin’ me to say… living life without you girl, is alright… If you really want to know… I’d have to say it’s dangerous, to my mind.
Taken from George’s 1983 In Your Eyes LP, "Lady Love" peaked at US #30 pop, and #21 R&B, but ended up doing much better across the pond, where it peaked at #11 on the UK Singles chart.
Starting with the #10 pop hit “This Masquerade” from the aforementioned Breezin’ LP, (which was one of the first cover tunes I recall taking notice of as a child, as I was quite familiar with the earlier version by The Carpenters), Benson enjoyed a string of top 40 hits including a live rendition of The Drifters’ classic “On Broadway” (a #7 hit in 1978), and the original compositions “Give Me the Night” (#4, ‘80), and “Turn Your Love Around” (#5, ’81). “Lady Love…” would prove to be Benson’s final US hit to peak within the top 40.
Characterized by a playful and carefree, yet sophisticated “Manhattan” vibe, George’s romantic tale details a man who successfully woos his way back into his estranged lover’s arms and heart. I always looked forward to catching any of Benson’s tracks on the radio, and “Lady Love” was no exception. The track is richly layered with George’s smooth and classy vocal delivery, vulnerable, yet romantic lyrics co-authored by Toto’s David Paich, distinctive “whistle-like” keyboard work, and a mid-song monosyllabic repetition that owes a lot to the tradition of “scat singing” popularized by the likes of legends Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway.
Yes, I'm askin' you to stay… Remembering it used to be so right… If you're askin' for the truth… I'd have to say I won't believe it’s goodnight.
Songs like this one contributed greatly to my love of Top 40 radio during my “growing up” years... there was always such a great diversity of music styles on tap. Sure, the format was always dominated by rock and its off-shoots (hard, soft, heartland, folk rock, blues rock), but also swirling around in the mix was soul, dance, new wave, country, novelty ("Stars on 45" and "The Curly Shuffle" spring to mind), and the occasional jazz cross over like Mr. Benson's hit output. There was such a wide cross section of artists and styles, it was almost like attending a music diversity class broadcast over the airwaves.
So keep your frequency locked to the Radio Dial, where we are already hard at work riffling through our extensive archives of vinyl, cassettes, and CDs in order to bring you, the loyal Dialophile, the greatest tracks you’ve forgotten you once loved, or possibly, never even heard the first time out!
So before you turn and walk away, just let me love you one more time, feel your heartbeat close to mine… Lady, love me all the time, lady love me.
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