Ten R & B Remakes That Sound Better Than The Original

I was watching Martin last night, the episode where he busted up on stage in the middle of Jodeci's performance on the Varnell Hill Show (did you miss me). That got me to thinking, sadly, Jodeci has kind of fallen off since the 90's, but nobody can deny that they- especially K-Ci- sang their asses off. Somehow, that thought got me to thinking about songs that have been remade, and how some of the newer versions sound better than the original...in my opinion. So, here's a list of some of my favorite remakes:

1. Since Jodeci was the reason for this post, the first song goes to K-Ci, remaking If You Think You're Lonely Now by Bobby Womack from the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. There's just something about K-Ci's soulful voice, and him throwing in an, "Ooooh yeahhhh," every now and then that has made this one of my favorite remakes. And..he sang this song better than Bobby. Sorry, Bobby. 

2. Still on Jodeci, K-Ci and JoJo's version of Lately, by Stevie Wonder just made me wanna take my panties off and throw them at the radio back in the day. Stevie is the man, don't get me wrong, but there's something about two thugs in baseball caps, gold chains, and Timbs, singing their hearts out to their women, that just did it for me.

3. Allure ft. 112- All Cried Out. I used to wear this single out back in 1997. I had just gone though my first little heartbreak, and this became my go to breakup song. I didn't find out until later that it was a remake by Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam. I listened to the original, but Slim from 112's voice just soothed and comforted me..LOL. 

4. Okay, I just happened to stumble upon this one while I was researching for this post and I have to be honest and say I never knew This Woman's Work was a remake...nor had I ever heard of Kate Bush. She has a pretty voice, but ever since Love & Basketball, when Monica lost her virginity to Quincy, this song was meant for Maxwell and Maxwell only to sing and nobody else. Sorry, Kate.

5. I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Dolly Parton is my girl, and I was often compared to her, not because of singing, but because we happen to both be blessed in the chest area. So, I always felt her pain. But Whitney slayed her version of this song from The Bodyguard soundtrack, circa 1992. RIP Whitney. 

6. A House Is Not A Home by Luther Vandross. Okay, this is another one I stumbled upon. For the 36 years I've been living, I thought this was Luther's song. I never knew about Burt Bacharach and when I listened to his version, it's not bad at all. But can't NOBODY beat Luther singing this song. He had the jerri curl at the time, was thickums, and sweated like crazy, but he owned this song. And the fact that he did it live was even better. 

7. And I Am Telling You. A few older women might come for me about this pick, but I'm sorry, I give this one to Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Holliday made this song a classic back in her day, but the growling and facial expressions were just a bit much for me. However, I was glad to see the two ladies get together and sing this song on the BET Awards several years ago. I still think J. Hud sang better though. Listen to the collaboration and you be the judge.

 

   

8. Joshua Ledet's rendition of James Brown's It's a Man's Man's World will forever go down in American Idol history as being the second best performance on the show...ever! The only other performance I saw that was slightly better was Fantasia's Summertime. I am amazed that this guy is so young, but was able to sang the hell out of this classic and give not only me, but all of America chills. I'm still confused as to why the title of American Idol wasn't given to him then and there. He was so humble afterwards, acting like he didn't just burn a hole in that stage with his performance. 

9. I know I'm about to get a serious side-eye with this one but, Kelly Price's version of the Shirley Murdock classic, As We Lay, is slightly better. I loved this song back in the 80's, but I had to give Kelly props when she managed to hit all those high notes. She's a little cray cray, but she can sang her face off. And I like the little cameo Shirley made in the video. 

10. Boyz II Men's version of In The Still Of the Night by The Five Satins was always one of my favorite songs. I have my moments where I like a good old 1950's song, and when I heard this song back in the 90's, I knew it sounded like a song my grandparents probably listened to, but Boyz II Men mesmerized me with their modern, acapella version.This was back when people actually had real talent and could sing and didn't have to rely on gimmicks to make it in the music business. 

#RAndB #90sMusic #SongRemakes