djzyonseven
There were certain songs I could always depend on when I was DJing house parties or dances back in the day.
When it was time to slow everything down and give people a chance to get a little closer…
Always and Forever by Heatwave was one of my go-to tracks. 🎧❤️
That song was on just about every Slow Jams or Quiet Storm mixtape I made for somebody.
You really could not make a proper slow jam tape without it. At least I couldn’t.
All these years later, it is still sitting comfortably in a couple of my Spotify playlists.
That tells you how much of a classic this song is to me.
Always and Forever was recorded for Heatwave’s debut album, Too Hot to Handle.
The album arrived in 1976 in the United Kingdom, and the song became a major American hit after being released as a single in 1977.
The beautiful lead vocal belongs to Heatwave cofounder Johnnie Wilder Jr. 🎤
He sang it with warmth, tenderness, and restraint.
It sounds less like somebody performing for an audience and more like a man making a promise directly to one person.
That part is what makes the original so special.
The song was written by Heatwave keyboardist Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue.
Temperton also wrote Heatwave classics such as Boogie Nights, The Groove Line, and Star of a Story. 🎹🔥
His story did not end with Heatwave.
Quincy Jones eventually brought Temperton into Michael Jackson’s musical world.
Rod went on to write Rock with You, Off the Wall, Burn This Disco Out, “Thriller,” Baby Be Mine, and The Lady in My Life.
Once you know the same man wrote Always and Forever and TheLady in My Life, you can hear the connection.
Those are two of my favorite slow classics of all time.
Rod knew how to write romantic R&B that felt elegant without becoming corny.
He understood melody, mood, and space.
Luther Vandross later recorded Always and Forever for his 1994 album, Songs.
And listen, anybody who knows me knows how much I love Luther Vandross.
He is one of my favorite male vocalists of all time.
Luther’s version is beautiful because, come on now, it is Luther.
That man could sing the instructions on a bottle of cough syrup and still have somebody getting emotional. 😂
But as much as I love Luther’s version, I still prefer Heatwave’s original.
It is simply R&B perfection. 🎶
This is real R&B.
Romantic without being graphic.
Emotional without being overly dramatic.
Smooth without becoming sleepy.
From Slow Dances to Weddings’ First Dances.👯
Nearly fifty years later, Always and Forever still sounds just as beautiful.
Some songs belong to an era.
This one belongs to everybody who has ever loved somebody enough to wish that always could really be forever. 💙
djz7
#TheSoundtrackOfWhoIBecame, #Heatwave, #AlwaysAndForever, #RodTemperton, #JohnnieWilderJr, #ClassicRNB, #SlowJams, #QuietStorm, #OldSchoolRNB, #SoulMusic, #LutherVandross, @Heatwave
