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Wednesday, November 16, 2022

"Put Your Mouth on Me" by Eddie Murphy

Song#:  3980
Date:  07/29/1989
Debut:  90
Peak:  27
Weeks:  13
Genre:  R&B, Funk


Pop Bits:  In 1985, Murphy put out his first musical album How Could It Be. It would become a #26 gold seller thanks to the #2 Pop/#8 R&B platinum single "Party All the Time." After that success, he'd return to film. He would add three more box office hits to his tally including '88's Coming to America. On a break following that flick, Murphy got back in the studio to record his second musical venture. Murphy would co-write all but two songs for the LP So Happy. Prior to its release, this first single would be issued out. Co-written and produced by Narada Michael Walden, the tune would be a hit at R&B reaching #2. Over on the Pop chart, it would fizzle inside the Top 30. A second single, "'Til the Money's Gone," would scrape the R&B chart at #75. The results left the album peaking at #22 R&B and #70 Pop. It would fail to reach gold level sales.

ReduxReview:  I'm not sure if this is an homage to Prince or a Prince parody. Either way, it didn't work. Now, I will say that the music and production was not too bad, which I assume is mostly from Walden. But then there are the lyrics and Murphy's truly awful vocal "performance" filled with Prince/Michael Jackson "oh...ah" ad libs that get really bad near the end. It seemed like Murphy was going for a legit song with slight comedic elements that perhaps poked fun at the previously mentioned superstars, but it didn't work. It sounded like a comedian letting his ego think that he's the best thing since sliced bread and whatever comes out of his mouth is gold. And I'm sure everyone in the studio was like "oh yes Mr. Murphy - that is awesome - you are on fire!," not having the guts to tell him to reel it in. This is what happens when big celebrities who can perhaps carry a tune think they can actually sing. Or as Prince might have put it, this is what it sounds like when my ears cry...for mercy.

ReduxRating:  1/10

Trivia:  Murphy was a box office king in the 80s, but when the 90s came along his films were grossing less and were not impressing critics. His days of ruling the box office were pretty much over. Murphy would have the occasional success like 1996's The Nutty Professor, which led to him starring in or doing voice overs for family-friendly fare. His more serious films failed to gain attention. In 2002, Murphy would star in the notorious box office bomb The Adventures of Pluto Nash. It was one of the most expensive flops in film history costing over $100 million and grossing just $7 million. In 2006, he scored a major comeback when he co-starred in the musical Dreamgirls. The role would earn him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. After that, he once again had a string of misses save for the critically-successful award-winning 2019 film Dolemite Is My Name. In 1993, Murphy would push out one last music album, Love's Alright. The lead single "Whatzupwitu" featured background vocals by Michael Jackson, but it would only get to #74 R&B. The album floundered at #70 R&B and failed to make the Pop chart.

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