Roni – Bobby Brown | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3) & R&B (#2); 1989
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Bobby Brown got off to a blistering start when five of his first seven singles topped the R&B chart and crossed over to the pop Top 10. Girlfriend kicked things off, reaching #1 at the end of 1986.
Girl Next Door then turned in a disappointing #31 performance. Both were off King Of Stage, an album reminiscent of Bobby’s work with New Edition that gave little indication of the edgy New Jack Swing that would appear on his follow-up album, Don’t Be Cruel.
The title track featured the magic touch of writer/producers Babyface and L.A. Reid. Coupled with Bobby’s aggressive vocals, Don’t Be Cruel was simply irresistible. My Prerogative gave Bobby his second straight #1 which, surprisingly, took an additional three months to top the pop chart.
Meanwhile, another Babyface/Reid production, Roni, climbed to #2 R&B. Every Little Step – yet another R&B #1 – completed the releases from the seven times-platinum Don’t Be Cruel album, and On Our Own, from Ghostbusters II, capped Bobby’s amazing run.
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:
- Babyface
- Darnell Bristol
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).