Girlfriend – Pebbles | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5), R&B (#1 for 2 weeks) and Hot Dance (#24); 1988
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Perri Alette McKissack’s godfather called her “Pebbles” after Fred and Wilma Flintstone’s cartoon daughter and the name stuck. Pebbles always knew she’d be in the entertainment biz and, sure enough, a video version she’d done of Mercedes Boy helped convince MCA to offer her a contract.
Pebbles was just about finished with her debut album when she met Babyface and L.A. Reid. The two were immediately smitten by the young singer, especially Reid, (who would marry her in 1989). Although told that there was no space available for more songs, Babyface and L.A. wanted Pebbles to audition a song they’d penned for Vanessa Williams.
Once they heard Pebbles sing Girlfriend, they knew she had to record it. In the end, they prevailed. Girlfriend – written by two men from a woman’s point of view – struck a chord; reaching #1 R&B on February 3rd, 1988 and #5 on the pop list two months later.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- L.A. Reid
- Babyface
Lyrics Written by:
- Kenneth Edmonds
- Antonio Reid
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).