Post by erik on Jan 30, 2021 18:29:20 GMT -5
One of the great R&B artists of our time has been John Legend; and this week, he will be spotlighted with a minor 2006 hit of his that borrows its melody from the Classics IV.
SAVE ROOM (John Legend; Sony; 2006)—Born as John Roger Stephens in Springfield, Ohio on December 28, 1978, John Legend has been one of the biggest R&B stars of recent times, due to his mixtures of jazz, hip-hop, 70’s-style R&B and much more. Legend came to the attention of then-rising rap/hip-hop star Kanye West; and by late 2004, he had released the first of many successful albums, Get Lifted, which reached #7 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and sold 116,000 copies in its first week of release (it won a Best R&B Album Grammy in 2005). His second album, the 2006 release Once Again, solidified his growing reputation, getting to #3 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, and #1 on the R&B Album Chart. One of that album’s tracks went on to become a “smooth jazz” favorite, entitled “Save Room”. It sounded vaguely familiar to even the greenest of all listeners, and for good reason. The melody of “Save Room” was based off of jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo’s 1969 recording of “Stormy”, which had been written by Buddy Buie and James Cobb in 1968, and made into a big hit that same year by their group the Classics IV, and utilized at the suggestion of West. Although it wasn’t quite the big hit that Legend or his handlers might have wanted (it only reached #61 on the Hot 100 in August 2006, as well as #10 on the Adult R&B singles chart), it nevertheless enhanced his reputation, and even brought back the Classics IV’s 1968 hit that “Save Room” had borrowed its melody for. In the meantime, Legend would go on to marry fashion model Christy Teigen in 2013, and stretch himself into movies, notably his collaboration with rap star Common on the song “Glory” for the 2014 film Selma, and his role as Keith in writer/director Damien Chazelle’s six-time Oscar-winning musical La La Land (he would also write and perform the song “Start A Fire” for that film).
SAVE ROOM (John Legend; Sony; 2006)—Born as John Roger Stephens in Springfield, Ohio on December 28, 1978, John Legend has been one of the biggest R&B stars of recent times, due to his mixtures of jazz, hip-hop, 70’s-style R&B and much more. Legend came to the attention of then-rising rap/hip-hop star Kanye West; and by late 2004, he had released the first of many successful albums, Get Lifted, which reached #7 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and sold 116,000 copies in its first week of release (it won a Best R&B Album Grammy in 2005). His second album, the 2006 release Once Again, solidified his growing reputation, getting to #3 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, and #1 on the R&B Album Chart. One of that album’s tracks went on to become a “smooth jazz” favorite, entitled “Save Room”. It sounded vaguely familiar to even the greenest of all listeners, and for good reason. The melody of “Save Room” was based off of jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo’s 1969 recording of “Stormy”, which had been written by Buddy Buie and James Cobb in 1968, and made into a big hit that same year by their group the Classics IV, and utilized at the suggestion of West. Although it wasn’t quite the big hit that Legend or his handlers might have wanted (it only reached #61 on the Hot 100 in August 2006, as well as #10 on the Adult R&B singles chart), it nevertheless enhanced his reputation, and even brought back the Classics IV’s 1968 hit that “Save Room” had borrowed its melody for. In the meantime, Legend would go on to marry fashion model Christy Teigen in 2013, and stretch himself into movies, notably his collaboration with rap star Common on the song “Glory” for the 2014 film Selma, and his role as Keith in writer/director Damien Chazelle’s six-time Oscar-winning musical La La Land (he would also write and perform the song “Start A Fire” for that film).