David Fincher is the man of the moment due to his critically acclaimed, box-office hit, "Gone Girl". What people may not realize (or remember) is that Mr. Fincher began his career directing commericals and most notably, music videos. To date, he's made over fifty clips with his most recent being Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie" which won Fincher a Grammy Award last year for Best Music Video.
New York Magazine has complied a list ranking the Oscar-nominated director's best work in music videos. Click below to read:
Today's tune is "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" by Jermaine Stewart. The song, suggesting to simply enjoy a glass of wine and some dancing instead of a casual romp, is a highly unusual request particularly coming from a male. But that's exactly what makes this slick bit of dance-pop so irresistible with Mr. Stewart selling it so convincingly.
To be honest, I don't really recall Stewart when he was dancing on "Soul Train" but I do remember his friends, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel on the show. They all went to audition for Don Cornelius when he decided to create a singing group. However, only Watley and Daniel were accepted which would later evolved in to the hit r&b trio, Shalamar. Not discouraged, Stewart worked on demos and performed background work for Culture Club. This helped the artist get signed to Arista Records and recording his first album, "The Word Is Out" in 1984. The title track was only a minor success but helped indicate that the singer was one to watch.
The next album, "Frantic Romantic" featured "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off". The song reached the top-five in the U.S. and Britain and became his biggest hit. Stewart went on to release two more albums, "Say It Again" (1987) and "What Becomes a Legend Most" (1989) that were pretty much ignored in America but found greater success in Europe. Sadly, Jermaine Stewart passed away in 1997 due to an AIDS-related illness.
I really loved the music video for this tune because it's fun and full of energy much like the song. I also appreciated the singer's flamboyant sense of style. Enjoy the sight and sounds from Mr. Jermaine Stewart:
As a bonus, here is the follow-up single from "Frantic Romantic" that was a tribute to his good friend, Jody Watley:
