Going back into the previous century (oh yeah I sure do feel old duh) to check out what was perched at the top of the charts in 1992:
Title: “End of the Road”
Artist: Boys II Men
Nationality: American
Genre: R&B
Written by: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Antonio “LA” Reid, Daryl Simmons
Original release date: June 30 1992
Progress to the top: Entered chart at 36, took eight weeks to slowly climb until it got to number 2 on October 17 and spent two weeks there before moving onto the top spot, which it held for three weeks. Its progress back down the chart was slow, showing the song remained very popular even after it had dropped from the top spot. It took three weeks to drop out of the top ten, and five to drop out of the top forty.
Weeks spent at number one: 3
From the album: Boomerang soundtrack (also on reissue of their
Cooleyhighharmony album)
What do I know about this artist? Another boyband, what’s to know?
What do I think of this single?It’s a decent ballad, with a lot of soul and the kind of 60s/70s doo-wop sound that you might get from the likes of Smokey and his ilk. It’s a really nice song, and I guess that’s one thing you can say about boybands, that they write - or at least record - good ballads. To their credit, this is written by members of the band. I could do without the formulaic spoken part though, these seldom work unless you’re the great Barry White, and then he only ever used that as an introduction.
What have I learned about this single? I’ve learned it was even more successful in the USA (not surprisingly) where it spent a massive 13 weeks at number one, the record at the time for a chart-topping single. It was released as part of the soundtrack to the movie
Boomerang (no, I never heard of it and don’t know what it is about, nor do I care) but due to its phenomenal success, having not been on the album
Cooleyhighharmony, it was included on the reissue of that album later that year.
My rating: A+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKO6XYXioc