FEATURE:
Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure
Amy Grant – Baby Baby
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THERE are songs that perform…
really well commercially and are quite well received, yet there is a certain stigma attached to enjoying it. It is ridiculous, because I feel some people are afraid to embrace positive music or feel that it is uncool to like Pop music, for instance. Many of the tracks I cover for this feature are great, but you find that they are seen as ‘guilty pleasures’ – songs that many would be embarrassed to like or sing along to. The late-1980s and early-1990s was a rich time for feelgood Pop music, and Amy Grant’s Baby Baby of 1991 is one such example! I am just about old enough to remember this the first time, and its wholesome, charming video and incredible catchiness connected with me back then when I was very young. Baby Baby was the first single from Grant’s album, Heart in Motion - which is an album that remains very underrated and under-explored. Written by Keith Thomas and Grant, Baby Baby is just what you want from a Pop song. It has a hugely memorable chorus, a real sense of fun, and the song can be appreciated and understood by a wide demographic! Although Amy Grant saw several songs from Heart in Motion become big hits, there are many people who avoid Grant and feel her music is a bit too soft or sweet. At the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, Baby Baby received two Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year.
It is a terrific song, and I think it sounds more captivating and uplifting than most of the Pop music around today! As the story goes, Grant had a difficult time writing the lyrics to Baby Baby, and it was only when she saw her six-week-old daughter Millie that the words fitted into place and inspiration was found. From there, Grant wrote the lyrics were written very quickly and Baby Baby went on to become a classic. Baby Baby hit the top spot in the U.S. and it reached number-two in the U.K. I think Heart in Motion was a bit of a transitionary moment for Grant. Her first few albums had their roots in Christian/Gospel, and it was on 1985’s Unguarded where the Christian lyrics were scaled back and she moved more into Pop territory. Lead Me On (1988) preceded Heart in Motion, and it is was a less effusive and Pop-orientated affair. It was not a hugely successful album, so I think there was a deliberate move back to the Pop sounds. Whilst Grant lacked the edge of some of her contemporaries like Madonna, I think it is her faith, heart and purity that makes songs like Baby Baby stand the test of time! That is not to say that Grant lacked passion, but I don’t think she felt the need to be controversial or explicit at all. Maybe that is why some people overlook Baby Baby.
I have always loved the song, and the Heart in Motion album is packed with great songs. This is what AllMusic wrote when they reviewed the album:
“In the late '70s and early 80s, Amy Grant enjoyed little exposure outside of Christian circles. But that started to change in the mid-'80s, when A&M promoted her aggressively in the secular market. And in the '90s, secular audiences accounted for the vast majority of her sales. Christians were hardly the only ones buying Heart In Motion, one of Grant's biggest sellers. Even though she wasn't beating listeners over the head with her beliefs, Grant's wholesome, girl-next-door image was a big part of the appeal of perky pop-rock offerings like "Every Heartbeat," "Galileo" and the major hit "Baby Baby." And it's certainly a key element of another huge single from the album, the idealistic ballad "That's What Love Is For." Grant was a major star, and best of all, she wasn't acting like one”.
Baby Baby’s video was not played on MTV a lot; maybe because it was not typical of videos at the time. There were no flashy sets and effects. Instead, we see Grant frolicking with her love interest, and it is a simple-yet-memorable video that fits the lyrics. I am not sure what people were expecting with the video, but it is a shame that it did not get more focus until the song became too popular to ignore. Baby Baby’s video was nominated for Best Female Video at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where it lost out to Janet Jackson’s Love Will Never Do.
Baby Baby is a song that has survived through the years and is still being discussed and dissected. In 2016 – to mark the song’s twenty-fifth anniversary – it was remade by Tori Kelly (who is a popular singer and was a semi-finalist on the ninth season of American Idol in 2010). Amy Grant spoke with Billboard about Baby Baby and its remake:
“It's the 25th Anniversary of "Baby Baby." When did you decide that you wanted to give the song a makeover?
I wish I could say that it was my decision, but it was my manager Jennifer Cooke's idea. (Grant is managed by Cooke, along with Brooks Parker). When she suggested recording an update of "Baby Baby," I think I was on board with it out of the gate. I'd like to think that it's one of those timeless songs and we just wanted to bring it up-to-date. Plus, with the 25th anniversary, it was good timing.
Did you always have Tori Kelly in mind to collaborate with or did you consider other vocalists?
My daughter Corrina loves Tori Kelly, so initially she suggested the pairing, but yes, I did consider other artists. If I used an older vocalist, it would have been a totally different kind of emotional connect, and with my original vocal being used, it was a good match with Tori.
Heart in Motion was your ninth album to reach No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart. Do you recall the reaction from the Christian community when the album became so huge on the pop side? Some formats are normally protective of their artists.
Honestly, I do not recall anything controversial at the time, but I was distracted with life and family during that period, too.
What was it like dealing with pop industry people in contrast to the Christian community?
Essentially, I believe that people are people and not specific to a format or genre. Basically, you have good people, awkward people and so on, so I see everyone as individuals. If anything, I think that I have been treated well across the board”.
Nearly thirty years after its release, I still listen to Baby Baby, and I do not think it is a song that should be seen as a slight guilty pleasure or for a certain person! It is such an effusive, tender and beautiful track, one cannot find fault with it. Perhaps it was not as big and bold as some of the best Pop from 1991 (and the early-1990s), but it is a marvellous song and one that is guaranteed to give you energy and motivation! If you have never heard Baby Baby before, then put it on now and…
TURN it up loud.