Album: Love Always (MCA)
Songwriters: Rory Bennett and JoJo Hailey
Hit #1: April 4th, 1998 (3 Weeks)
In the midst of Jodeci's R&B success, one-half of the quartet, brothers K-Ci and JoJo Hailey, had already begun establishing themselves as a separate entity with off-shoot soundtrack appearances and collaborations with other artists. After achieving a #1 record thanks to their hook duties for 2Pac's "How Do U Want It" (and with Jodeci "taking a break"), the duo announced plans to release their own album, Love Always, which dropped in the summer of 1997.
By the time "All My Life" dropped as the album's third single, Love Always had already reached Platinum and nabbed two Top 20 R&B hits ("You Bring Me Up", "Last Night's Letter") with songs that didn't sound too far off from their work with Jodeci. "All My Life", was an entirely different case, though.
Originally written as a tribute to JoJo's daughter (though it was almost given to another artist from their A&M label), "All My Life" captured the Hailey siblings at their most pop. Opening with a melancholy violin section, striking piano melody and the duo's effervescent harmonies, the richly-produced ballad felt miles away from the "sex you up" banter they had indulged in in the past. The lyrics, which expressed a universal message of love and appreciation to a special person ("All my life/ I prayed for someone like you/ And I thank God/ That I finally found you") were embraced by many (most who had probably never heard of Jodeci), and with JoJo's streamlined tenor on lead duties (a smart move to keep the less contained yelps of K-Ci on background), the track held a light gorgeousness that certified it would be played at millions of weddings in the future.
Topping both the pop and R&B charts, "All My Life" became the biggest hit out of K-Ci & JoJo's entire career, including their tenure with Jodeci, while sales for Love Always exceeded past the four million mark. So it wasn't all that surprising that further albums would produce several more singles of the pop-minded vein ("Tell Me It's Real", "Crazy", "This Very Moment") but none would bear the same success as "All My Life".
Best Moment: It's utterly perfect chorus.
DL: "All My Life" (YFH)
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