Rose Royce, Wishing On a Star | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 162nd edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Wishing On a Star” by Rose Royce.   

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 162^nd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Wishing On a Star” performed by Rose Royce.

“I’m wishing on a star / To follow where you are,” Rose Norwalt (Gwen Dickey) of Rose Royce sings, continuing, “I’m wishin’ on a dream / To follow what it means.” Those lyrics hail from the funk/R&B/ soul collective’s classic, “Wishing On a Star”. “Wishing On a Star” is the opener of their 1977, sophomore album, In Bloom. Unfortunately, “Wishing On a Star” didn’t impact the pop charts.  It also didn’t ‘electrify’ the R&B charts peaking at no. 52.  Looking back, it’s a shame this wishful gem didn’t receive more love.  It was marvelously penned by soul singer/songwriter, Billie Rae Calvin (1949 – 2017), a member of The Undisputed Truth. Legendary songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield (1940 – 2008) produced.  The backdrop is celestial, thanks to the drumming, keys, and dramatic, lush strings in particular.

Rose Norwalt delivers a sophisticated, well-rounded vocal.  She maintains her poise throughout much of the record, never forcing things. She longs for him even though he’s gone, and they’re ‘done’:

“Just think of all the moments that we spent

I just can’t let you go, for me,  you were meant

And I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I know

That in the game of lovin’, you reap what you sow.”

Rose strongly believes this shouldn’t be the end, singing assertively, “I feel it’s time we should ‘make up,’ baby.” Do they? Not during “Wishing On a Star”  unfortunately 😢. That doesn’t keep Rose from wishin’ “On all the rainbows” that she sees.  Even as “Wishing On a Star” inches towards 50 years old, it remains an engaging, fresh, and relatable soul cut.

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

Rose Royce, Wishing On a Star: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 162 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Warner; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]