"Every Little Step" is a 1989 single by American singer

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, written by L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. Released as the fourth single on his second album '' Don't Be Cruel'' it reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 2 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100, number one on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart, and number six on the UK Singles Chart in 1989. The song also appears on Brown's remix album '' Dance!...Ya Know It!''. The single garnered Brown's first career

Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

at the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1990.

Composition and production

Around the time '' Don't Be Cruel'' was in production, Reid was dating singer Pebbles, who later became his wife. Inspired by his relationship with his girlfriend at the time, he wrote and co-produced the song with Edmonds, intending to give it to the group Midnight Star. Bobby Brown, however, heard a demo of the song and liked it instantly, which led to its inclusion on ''Don't Be Cruel.'' Brown popularized the Roger Rabbit dance (aka the "backwards" running man), as performed in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song, along with the

Gumby Gumby and Pokey figures ''Gumby'' is an American cartoon character and associated media franchise created by Art Clokey. He is a blocky green humanoid made of clay. Gumby stars in two television series, '' Gumby: The Movie'', and other medi ...

-style

hi-top fade Hi-top fade is a haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short while hair on the top of the head is grown long. The hi-top was a trend during the golden age of hip hop and urban contemporary music of the 1980s and the early 1990s. ...

. In 1995, "Every Little Step" was remixed by British DJ/producer C.J. Mackintosh and was included on Brown's remix album, '' Two Can Play That Game'' (1995). This version of the song was released as a single in 1996, reaching number 25 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2013, former New Edition manager Steven Machat claimed additional vocals on the song were allegedly done by Brown's friend, and fellow New Edition member

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album '' Ralph Tres ...

. Machat alleges that Tresvant was brought in to sing some of Brown's vocals, as he claims Brown had been strung out on drugs. Machat's story contradicts what happened with Brown as far back as 1989, where he was interviewed by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' during the filming of the video for " On Our Own". Brown said he left New Edition primarily because of Machat and his business partners, Bill Dern and Rick Smith, whom he named as the managers who ripped him off and started the rumor of him being heavily addicted to drugs at the time. Brown said, ''"People at MCA thought we was on drugs. That wasn't us. We were a bunch of brats, but we wasn't into drugs, we wasn't into liquor. We was into girls"''.

Track listing

A-side

# "Every Little Step" (Extended Version) – 7:55 # "Every Little Step" (Instrumental) – 4:02

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Additional personnel

* L.A. Reid: remixing, drum programming, percussion * Donald K. Parks: Fairlight programming * Kayo: Pro-One synth bass * Daryl Simmons & Karyn White: background vocals

References

External links

* {{authority control 1989 singles Bobby Brown songs Songs written by Babyface (musician) Songs written by L.A. Reid Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) 1988 songs MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Alek Keshishian Song recordings produced by L.A. Reid