A Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the precious and hardworking moms out there! This post is dedicated to all the moms, especially my own mom.
Today's post is brought to you by Cheryl Pepsii Riley. A New York native, Riley was a nurse while pursuing a side job of singing. She would sing at nightclubs, do community theater, and also be part of of a group called Stargaze during her free time. During this time, Full Force member Bowlegged Lou approached Riley with an offer to produce her singing career with a song called "I Wonder If I Take You Home" in 1984. But, Riley refused the song and Lou eventually gave the song to Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, which was a huge hit for the group.
Regretting the decision of rejecting the succesful "I Wonder If I Take You Home", Riley reached out to Lou again in order for him to write another song for her. Eventually, she hit success with one of her first singles, "Thank You For My Child", in 1988 when it reached #1 on the R&B charts in the US. The song, written by Bowlegged Lou, was a mid-tempo ballad about Lou's experience with his wife's complications during her first pregnancy.[1]
Although Riley enjoyed the success of having her song top the charts, she continued her career as a nurse while releasing songs and other material. She released three albums, which the first one reached #18 on the charts, with semi-successful singles. However, she took a break from the musical industry after the release of her third album in 1993.
Riley reemerged in the late 90s and early 00s as an actress in a bunch of Tyler Perry's plays. She also appeared in various film adaptations of Perry's productions such as 2011's "Madea's Big Happy Family".
"Thank You For My Child" starts off with a lento tempo. Only a series of triads and skeleton chords are played to support Riley during the first verse. The instrumentation rarely ever expands on those chords with the help of an 808 bass, Roland synthesizer, and electric piano. The instrumentation doesn't gain memento until the last third of the song when the instruments plays a little bit more of recognizable melody. Although, one of my favorite parts of the song is when the electric piano plays an a sweet chordal progression when the song briefly switches to a minor key during the first verse.
Riley's vocals is one of the pinnacle points of "Thank You For My Child". Her voice is smooth yet just the right of powerful needed for this song. It's a perfect fit for this inspirational ballad as it isn't overpowering the backing instrumentation. It's tone is pretty warm in order to help support and convey the song's meaning in a motherly way. An example of this is found at the ending when Riley sings strong yet tender vocal runs.
The lyrics are another important point. It's beautifully written as it told from a perspective of a single mother who cherishes and thanks the man above for her precious child. It is such an inspiration to mothers and non-mothers alike as anyone can relate this warm and caring thank you letter. If you have a chance, you should check them out on Genius.com to see how inspiring these lyrics are.
Moms, thank you for all what you do and loving your family unconditionally. You're the true superheroes.
Credits
[1] "Cheryl Pepsii Riley – Thanks For My Child." Genius. Web. 15 May 2016. (http://genius.com/Cheryl-pepsii-riley-thanks-for-my-child-lyrics)
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