90s Stand Out Singles: En Vogue, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” (1992)
When a group would pirate a classic sample and create a pop song around it, I often found it off-putting. It’s not a crime by any stretch, but it could be hard to reconcile at times.
Vanilla Ice tried to convince the world that he had merely “borrowed” from David Bowie, but c’mon. You aren’t fooling anyone, Ice. You can base your stupid (yet highly infectious) song off a classic sample, but don’t try and convince me you’re a musical genius at the same time. That puts an undue strain on our relationship.
Sometimes, though, the marriage of a classic sample and a Pop song was magically right. And such was the case with En Vogue and their single “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” (1992). This song was the second time the quartet of ladies from Oakland, CA, cracked the Billboard Top 10 and the first time I took notice of them.
To start with, the song is really good. And the singers were both appealing and talented. But what caught my ear initially was the guitar riff. When I first heard the song on the radio, I thought, “I know that riff. Where’s it from?” It took a few minutes, but then I placed it. That riff was the basis of “The Payback” (1981) by James Brown. I friggin loved James Brown. And I was so happy to hear his music being incorporated into a modern-day pop song.
But what was even more pleasing was En Vogue didn’t just sit back and expect this riff to do all the heavy lifting. EnVogue got funky with what was already funky and created something even funkier.
Really, really cool.
En Vogue’s second album, along with this single, launched the group on a path to be a dominant force in Pop music for the rest of the decade. There would be four more Top Ten singles, including a stellar collaboration with Salt-N-Pepa on “Whatta Man” (1993).
I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool En Vogue fan. But let me put it to you this way. I like it and appreciate it when a genuinely talented pop group doesn’t bend toward the lowest common denominator.
Cause it doesn’t happen very often.
