Wednesday 11/24/21 12am ET: Feature LP: Bobby Brown – Don’t Be Cruel (1988)

Don’t Be Cruel is the second studio album by American singer Bobby Brown. It was released in the United States on June 20, 1988 by MCA Records. MCA changed producers for this album and had Brown work with hit-making songwriting and production duo Babyface and L.A. Reid. Brown dedicated the album to his deceased best friend James “Jimbo” Flint who was stabbed to death when Brown was aged 11. Don’t Be Cruel incorporates new jack swing, R&B, funk, dance and soul.

Don’t Be Cruel peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and included five top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, with “My Prerogative” being a US number-one hit. Three of the singles also reached number one on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. “My Prerogative” was also the second-biggest single of 1989, ranking at number two on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1989. The album also spent a total of 11 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard R&B Albums chart over the course of 1988 and 1989. Internationally, it reached number one in Ireland and the top five in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

At the 32nd Grammy Awards, Brown won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Every Little Step”. Don’t Be Cruel received extremely positive reviews from music critics. It was far more successful than Brown’s debut album, spending a total of six weeks on top of the Billboard 200 and being the best-selling album of 1989 in the United States. On April 28, 1995 it was certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album sold over 12 million copies worldwide in total. In 2015, Billboard ranked Don’t Be Cruel at number 82 on its list of the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums.

1. “Cruel Prelude” 0:37
2. “Don’t Be Cruel” 6:48
3. “My Prerogative” 4:51
4. “Roni” 5:58
5. “Rock Wit’cha” 4:49
6. “Every Little Step” 3:57
7. “I’ll Be Good to You” 4:25
8. “Take It Slow” 5:23
9. “All Day All Night” 4:40
10. “I Really Love You Girl” 5:10
11. “Cruel Reprise” 0:19

Richard Aguon – drum fills, drums, background vocals
Babyface – mixing, producer, background vocals
Bernard Belle – background vocals
Ollie Bolds – background vocals
Bobby Brown – primary artist, producer, background vocals
Tommy Brown – finger snaps, production coordination
Emilio Conesa – guitar
Kirk Crumpler – bass, synthesizer, synthesizer bass
Michael Denten – drum technician, engineer, mixing, background vocals

Artist Countdown: Whitney Houston Top 40 Hits – 4pm ET @RealWhitney

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, singer, actress, producer, model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston was one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million records worldwide. She released six studio albums, one holiday album and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston’s crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for “How Will I Know”, influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly “Top Pop Album”) on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston’s 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone’s best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Houston’s first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film’s original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single “I Will Always Love You”, became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period under Nielsen SoundScan system. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996). The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at The Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The official coroner’s report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.] News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and featured prominently in American and international media. (Source: Wikipedia)

1	I Will Always Love You
2	I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
3	I’m Your Baby Tonight
4	I’m Every Woman
5	My Love Is Your Love
6	Step by Step
7	How Will I Know
8	One Moment in Time
9	When You Believe (with Mariah Carey)
10	Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
11	Greatest Love of All
12	Saving All My Love for You
13	It’s Not Right but It’s Okay
14	Could I Have This Kiss Forever (with Enrique Iglesias)
15	All the Man That I Need
16	Love Will Save the Day
17	So Emotional
18	I Have Nothing
19	Didn’t We Almost Have It All
20	Heartbreak Hotel (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price)
21	I Learned from the Best
22	Whatchulookinat
23	Count on Me (with CeCe Winans)
24	I Look to You
25	Run to You
26	Where Do Broken Hearts Go
27	My Name Is Not Susan
28	I Believe in You and Me
29	Million Dollar Bill
30	Queen of the Night
31	You Give Good Love
32	It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be (with Aretha Franklin)
33	If I Told You That (with George Michael)
34	Hold Me (with Teddy Pendergrass)
35	Miracle
36	Try It on My Own
37	Something in Common (with Bobby Brown)
38	Why Does It Hurt So Bad
39	The Star Spangled Banner
40	Celebrate (duet with Jordin Sparks)

Classic Countdown with Ron Kovacs (7/15/89) 9am ET @RadioMax

This week on the RadioMax Classic Countdown, we feature the Top 40 hits from this week in 1989,

1	GOOD THING    Fine Young Cannibals
2	BABY DON’T FORGET MY NUMBER    Milli Vanilli
3	EXPRESS YOURSELF    Madonna
4	IF YOU DON’T KNOW ME BY NOW    Simply Red
5	I DROVE ALL NIGHT    Cyndi Lauper
6	SATISFIED    Richard Marx
7	THIS TIME I KNOW IT’S FOR REAL    Donna Summer
8	MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY    Natalie Cole
9	TOY SOLDIERS    Martika
10	WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW    Expose
11	I WON’T BACK DOWN    Tom Petty
12	LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME    Bon Jovi
13	THE DOCTOR    Doobie Brothers
14	BATDANCE    Prince
15	WHO DO YOU GIVE YOUR LOVE TO?
16	ROOMS ON FIRE    Stevie Nicks
17	SO ALIVE    Love And Rockets
18	BUFFALO STANCE    Neneh Cherry
19	ON OUR OWN    Bobby Brown
20	CRAZY ABOUT HER    Rod Stewart
21	I LIKE IT    Dino
22	MY BRAVE FACE    Paul McCartney
23	EVERY LITTLE STEP    Bobby Brown
24	DRESSED FOR SUCCESS    Roxette
25	SEND ME AN ANGEL ’89    Real Life
26	I’LL BE LOVING YOU (Forever)    New Kids On The Block
27	ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY    Great White
28	CRY    Waterfront
29	SACRED EMOTION    Donny Osmond
30	HEY BABY    Henry Lee Summer
31	THE END OF THE INNOCENCE    Don Henley
32	DOWN BOYS    Warrant
33	SECRET RENDEZVOUS    Karyn White
34	VERONICA    Elvis Costello
35	HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK    Winger
36	INTO THE NIGHT    Benny Mardones
37	NO MORE RHYME    Debbie Gibson
38	COLD HEARTED    Paula Abdul
39	IN YOUR EYES    Peter Gabriel
40	RIGHT HERE WAITING    Richard Marx