Shalamar, This Is for the Lover in You | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 50^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “This Is for the Lover in You” by R&B trio, Shalamar.

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 50^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “This Is for the Lover in You”, performed by Shalamar. 

“This is for the lover in you / This ring means I’ll always be true.” Ah, the beauty of monogamy, as well as matrimony, Shalamar.  In the chorus of “This Is for the Lover in You”, the sixth track on the trio’s 1980 album, Three For Love, Howard Hewett (lead vocals), Jody Watley, and Jeffrey Daniel continue singing, “This is how we’ll start love anew / This time, it’s gonna last forever.” It’s that forever part that stands out! Hewett penned “This Is for the Lover in You” alongside Dana Meyers.  Producing this slick, 80s R&B cut is the legendary Leon Sylvers III.

Sylvers III’s production, alongside brilliant string and horn arrangements by Gene Dozier, pays off big time.  A perfect backdrop for this lover-driven gem, “This Is for the Lover in You” has become a popular sample for more contemporary artists.  Of course, Hewett sounds elite in both verses, the bridge, and his lead role in the choruses. Furthermore, he conveys the power of love lyrically, through gorgeous melodies.  “I know I’ll never find / Another who could match the love you’ve given to me,” he sings in the first verse, adding in the second, “The meaning of love / Is always shown to me when you are wrapped in my arms.” Aww 🥰! In the bridge, Hewett even gives us a hint of bedroom spice, without crossing the line: “I could say I never met a girl, no, no / Who satisfies my mental and my physical thing.” We catch your drift, Howard! All told, the five-minute “This Is for the Lover in You” is a stunning ballad by Shalamar.  While it didn’t impact the pop charts, it charted on the R&B charts, and parent album Three For Love was certified gold.

Shalamar // Three For Love // Unidisc Music Inc. // 1980

Shalamar, This Is for the Lover in You: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 50 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Unidisc Music Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]