Rose Royce, Ooh Boy | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 166^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Ooh Boy” by X.   

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 they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. . In the 166^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Ooh Boy” performed by Rose Royce.

“Ooh boy, I love you so / Never, ever, ever gonna let you go / Once I get my hands on you.” Rose Norwalt (Gwen Dickey), the lead vocalist of Rose Royce, serves up elegant vocals on “Ooh Boy”.  “Ooh Boy” is the third track on the R&B/soul/funk collective’s 1977 LP, In Full Bloom.  Dickey continues singing in the unforgettable chorus, “Ooh boy, I love you so / Never, ever, ever gonna let you go / I hope you feel the same way too.” Maybe “Wishing On a Star” will ensure reciprocated feelings! The fabulous song was written and produced by the one-and-only Norman Whitfield.  Whitfield put his foot into this hit which modestly impacted the pop charts (no. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100).  It fared better on the R&B charts, reaching no. 3.

The theme of “Ooh Boy” is simple – uncomplicated to the nth degree.  A girl is infatuated with a boy and doesn’t even know his name! Despite this, as Dickey asserts, “Infatuation, love at first sight / I don’t know I just know that the feeling is right.”  In the second verse, Gwen sings, “But I want you to know that deep down in my soul / I’m experiencing something wonderful and new.” Aww! “Ooh Baby” is groovy from the beginning.  It thrives off stellar, tuneful melodies and infectious, memorable, and relatable lyrics.  The instrumental accompaniment is the cat’s meow.  The horn riffs are funky. It’s also alluring and sweet when the riff is carried in the strings.  Additionally, the rhythm section is locked-in – on-point, baby!  The “Car Wash” will always be the Rose Royce song to beat but “Ooh Boy” deserves its flowers too!

Rose Royce // In Full Bloom // Warner // 1977

Rose Royce, Ooh Boy: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 166 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Warner; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]