BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988
“Don’t Be Cruel” is a song recorded by American singer Bobby Brown. Taken from his second and most successful album as its title track, the song was written and produced by the songwriting and production duo Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Antonio “L.A.” Reid, with additional writing by Daryl Simmons.
“Don’t Be Cruel” was Brown’s second single to reach the top position of the R&B chart where it remained for two weeks. As a pop crossover, it rose from number 59 to number 49, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the week of August 13, 1988, but it took two months to finally peak at number eight the week of October 15, 1988.
The music video was filmed in Boston in May 1988. It is similar to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel”, in which a man eagerly pursues the love of a lady on a blue-lit city street.
SIDE A:
Don’t Be Cruel (Extended Version) 6:50
SIDE B:
Don’t Be Cruel (Dub) 5:32
Don’t Be Cruel (A Cappella) 3:22
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Don’t Be Cruel | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #8 |
| 1988 | Don’t Be Cruel | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #1 |
| 1988 | Don’t Be Cruel | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #6 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA-23861
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Hip Hop, Pop
Style: RnB/Swing
CREDITS:
Executive-Producer – Louil Silas Jr.
Photography By – Todd Gray
Producer – L.A. & Babyface
NOTES:
Original version appears on MCA LP, “DON’T BE CRUEL”
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Thank you very much Paul.
i love this thnxx paul for the rip
Fantastic quality Paul! Thank you so much for this tune. Btw, I compared the Extendend Version and the Album Version. I can´t find any difference.
Interesting I have not listened to the album version in a long time will have to check it out. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Can you post seventeen 12″ version rock wit cha nu mix love beat mix 8:25 version of n e heartbreak 12″ live paul shaffer when the radio is on keith cohen remix and timmy regisford heres looking at you with dub Please? Shout out to NJ4Life
See what I can do.
I remember this song being the bomb back in the day. The beat was so great and if you had a quality stereo you really felt the bass. My favorite part of the beat was around 3:41 when you could hear the double clap sound effect. I used to double up the 1200s and play them at either 1/2 or 1/4 a beat off and it was just such a great effect. You could always count on MCA releasing dubs and plenty of mixes!
Thanks so much for this rip!!
I remember when I would hear this in the club the DJ would always speed the track up a bit. I like the part where the background choir starts in. Thanks for sharing your history with the song Fred 🙂
Buen tema, el interprete como persona deja mucho qu desear, pero algo musical nos dejo, gracias
De Nada 🙂
Jon Gass did a Edits de dub but Greg Ski Royal it’s on 12” Promo can’ u post. 5:25 radio Edit please?
Thanks for the info Maleek I don’t think I have the 12″ promo which includes the edit but I will check.
Think about him what you want – his music is (was) great. I love the remix collection “Dance! – Ya Know It” and have a couple of 12inches including the wonderful “Roni”.
Don´t remember the dub mix so I´m very exited.
DANCE! 🙂
Have fun Song And Dance 🙂
This is amongst many of the 12″ singles that I have in my collection and while single version was good in its day, the club version didn’t capture my audiences as much.
Still a good record though.
BTW, I have three more singles of Bobby Brown that I’ve managed to find in the last year. It’s fun for me doing transfers as well.
The 12″ was always a floor filler for my audiences guess that is why it reached #1 on the US dance chart. His other singles “My Prerogative”, “Every Little Step” and “On Our Own” were also #1 dance singles. Too bad his personal life sort of tarnished his images still great dance songs.
Hey Paul, I checked Wikipedia and Billboard’s site and the chart positions are actually in reverse for the R&B and Dance charts, with the song going #1 R&B and #6 Dance. Great song either way and thank you very much for bringing this 12″ back to us to enjoy.
Thanks for letting me know, Dan I corrected it 🙂
Oh what memories! Paul, I just love this stuff. Thanks for bringing this out for all of us. I am grinning very happily over this single.
Jeff
There are some fun edits on this one Jeff not sure who did them though because the record does not say. 🙂 The “Dub” is awesome.
You’ve really whetted my appetite Paul for the dub version. I owe all my phenomenal dub mixes to you. Thank you for not ignoring the B-Sides. I owe you so much for your generosity. And all the fine discoveries you’ve introduced me to. You are the definition of FABULOUS, DjPaulT. We are the luckiest listeners in the world all because of you and your audio presents. It blows my mind when I see your catalog. I just LOVE IT HERE!!! Oh, a few quick things. Here is an excellent article about Josie Cotton I discovered today; https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/josie-cotton-talks-lost-1986-album-valley-girl-and-getting-asked-out-by-nicolas-cage-232933414.html And I know… Read more »