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.
- “Cruel Prelude” 0:37
- “Don’t Be Cruel” 6:48
- “My Prerogative” 4:51
- “Roni” 5:58
- “Rock Wit’cha” 4:49
- “Every Little Step” 3:57
- “I’ll Be Good to You” 4:25
- “Take It Slow” 5:23
- “All Day All Night” 4:40
- “I Really Love You Girl” 5:10
- “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
Coming up on “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s,” on the playlist are: Lakeside, Bobby Brown, Third World, Van Halen, Johnny Mathis, Rick James, Roberta Flack, Barry White, Olivia Newton-John, a tribute to Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers by Diana Ross and Process & the Doo Rags, and I’ll give a quick salute to the late Chuck Barris who passed away yesterday. Meet me at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” straight ahead on the best station on the internet, RadioMaxMusic.Com.
When “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” comes your way this evening, you’ll be entertained by: Bobby Brown, New Edition, Anita Baker, Air Supply, the Bar-Kays, Barry & Glodean White, Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic Starr, Grandmaster Flash, Gladys Knight & the Pips and more. We kick it off at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. I’ll be looking for you later when “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” hits the air-ways on RadioMaxMusic.Com.
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