Deniece Williams, Silly | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 178^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Silly” by Deniece Williams.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 178^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Silly”, performed by 🎙 Deniece Williams. 

“Silly of me to go around / And brag about the love I found /… And foolish of me to tell them all / That every night and day you call / When you could care less.” True dat!  The 🏆 Grammy winning R&B/gospel singer/songwriter 🎙 Deniece Williams penned 🎵 “Silly” alongside 🎼 ✍ Clarence McDonald and Fritz Baskett. She produced alongside the late, great 🎛 Thom Bell.  With Bell at the helm, the production is lush, warm, and sophisticated. The arrangement is nothing short of glorious, including rhythm section, winds 🪈🎺, and strings 🎻. The incredibly gifted Williams thrives over this utterly sublime backdrop. It’s a perfect fit for her refined soprano. The gem 💎 appears as the third track on Williams’ 1981, gold-certified album, 💿 My Melody.  Although not a pop hit (it peaked at no. 53 on the Billboard hot 100), “Silly” performed much stronger on the R&B charts, peaking at no. 11.

The songwriting is a selling point of “Silly.” Williams asserts, [its] “Silly of me to think that I / Could ever have you for my guy.”  She adds, “Silly of me to think that you / Could ever really want me too / How I love you.” Love is a predictable yet highly effective subject for R&B.  On “Silly,” love fuels ⛽️ the fire 🔥 without a hitch. The centerpiece, unsurprisingly, is the chorus:

“You’re just a lover out to score

And I know that I should be looking for more

What could it be in you I see?

What could it be?

Oh, love, oh, love, stop making a fool of me.”

The production and the theme and lyrics are vital to the success of “Silly.” But the key piece is none other than DENIECE WILLIAMs – Niecy! As Williams sings, it sounds as if she never breaks a sweat 🚫 😓.  What’s most impressive is that it sounds like she sings with incredible ease.  Of course, melodically, she has a great tune to deliver.  This song right here speaks for itself – NO 🚫 CAP 🧢! Notably, 🏆 Grammy winner 🎙 Monica sampled 🎵 “Silly” for her own R&B hit, 🎵 “My Everything” from her 2010 album, 💿 Still Standing (no. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 / no. 1 on the R&B charts).

🎙 Deniece Williams • 💿 My Melody • 🏷 Columbia • 🗓 1981

Deniece Williams, Silly: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 178 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Columbia; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]