Column

Hey, kids: Here's how to slow dance

By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist
Published August 17, 2007

According to my teenage sons, kids no longer have an interest in slow dancing at their social functions.

Apparently -- and I shudder at the thought -- the boys and girls do so much cheek to cheek dancing on hip-hop jams, the need to get close on a love song has grown passe.

How sad. The night-ending slow jam not only framed slow dancing in the proper dignified context, it tested a young man's mettle.

He had to work up the courage to ask the girl, he had to treat her like a lady once the song started and unless he wanted to literally step on the girl's toes, he had to have a degree of slow dancing expertise that could best be honed by practicing with a broom in front of the mirror at home. Yeah, it looked as goofy as it sounds, but how else could you learn?

So today, I present a list of the 10 greatest slow jams of all time so that youth won't be wasted on you youngsters.

But first, the parameters. I considered only true slow jams, no midtempo beats. And it has to be a jam, meaning soulful.

I narrowed the field to songs from 1970 to today. And I put a premium on songs that were fairly well known.

10. Just to Be Close to You, Commodores: A gospel-tinged classic, this one helped introduce Lionel Richie. Kids, that's Nicole's dad.

9. If I Ain't Got You, Alicia Keys: Our best hope for introducing the next generation to the magic of slow jams.

8. End of the Road, Boyz II Men: I picked this over the group's I'll Make Love To You because any song in which the man acts like he's doing the woman a favor by being with her is ridiculous.

7. Be Without You, Mary J. Blige: The kind of powerful chemistry Blige sings about can't be manufactured.

6. I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston: Mention Houston's name and a lot of people envision a troubled star. Listen to this song, and you see her in a sequined dress made more beautiful by her awesome voice.

5. Through the Fire, Chaka Kahn: If Kanye West can turn it into a hip-hop hit, it's gotta be great.

4. Always & Forever, Heatwave: It's a wedding standard for most, but I once dropped the needle on this one 34 consecutive times after kissing a girl in high school. Kids, ask your parents about "dropping the needle."

3. If Only for One Night, Luther Vandross: You can't go wrong with any Luther song, but this one delivers.

2. Reasons, Earth, Wind & Fire: Another great jam from the '70s, which the band still performs at every concert.

1. Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye: This one has ended more dances and closed more bars than I care to remember. Gaye's sanctified invitation is such a classic you hear it on a King of Queens episode nearly 30 years after it first hit.

Honorable mentions: Turn Off The Lights, Teddy Pendergrass; We Belong Together, Mariah Carey; All My Life, K-Ci and JoJo; Adore, Prince; Between the Sheets, Isley Brothers; Betcha by Golly Wow, Stylistics; One More Try, George Michael; Let's Stay Together, Al Green; Slow Jam, Midnight Star; How Deep Is Your Love, BeeGees; Moments in Love, Art of Noise; Tender Love, Force M.D.'s.

Kids, download these and gain an appreciation for passion-fueled ballads so you can realize music is about more than boasting and body parts.

That's all I'm saying.

[Last modified August 17, 2007, 22:58:44]