Don't Be Cruel (album)

Don't Be Cruel
Studio album by
Bobby Brown
ReleasedJune 20, 1988
RecordedOctober 1987-April 1988
StudioSilverlake Studios (Los Angeles, CA) Axis Studios (New York)
Genre
Length47:08
LabelMCA
Producer
Bobby Brown chronology
King of Stage
(1986) 		Don't Be Cruel
(1988) 		Dance!...Ya Know It!
(1989)
Singles from Don't Be Cruel
  1. "Don't Be Cruel"
    Released: May 16, 1988
  2. "My Prerogative"
    Released: October 11, 1988
  3. "Roni"
    Released: December 27, 1988
  4. "Every Little Step"
    Released: January 31, 1989
  5. "Rock Wit'cha"
    Released: August 15, 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Village VoiceB+[2]

Don't Be Cruel is the second studio album by American singer Bobby Brown. It was released in the United States on June 20, 1988, by MCA Records. MCA changed producers for this album and had Brown work with hit-making songwriting and production duo Babyface and L.A. Reid. Brown dedicated the album to his deceased best friend James "Jimbo" Flint who was stabbed to death when Brown was aged 11.[3] Don't Be Cruel incorporates new jack swing, R&B, funk, dance and soul.[4]

Don't Be Cruel peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 and included five top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, with "My Prerogative" being a US number-one hit. Three of the singles also reached number one on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart. "My Prerogative" was also the second-biggest single of 1989, ranking at number two on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1989. The album also spent a total of 11 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard R&B Albums chart over the course of 1988 and 1989. Internationally, it reached number one in Ireland and the top five in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

At the 32nd Grammy Awards, Brown won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Every Little Step".[5] Don't Be Cruel received extremely positive reviews from music critics. It was far more successful than Brown's debut album, spending a total of six weeks on top of the Billboard 200 and being the best-selling album of 1989 in the United States. On April 28, 1995, it was certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6] The album sold over 12 million copies worldwide in total. In 2015, Billboard ranked Don't Be Cruel at number 82 on its list of the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums.[7]

The album received a 2-CD deluxe edition release commemorating its 35th anniversary on June 16, 2023 by Iconoclassic Records.[8] This deluxe edition was subsequently removed from sale, for undisclosed reasons.[9]

  1. ^ Henderson, Alex (November 1, 2001). "Don't Be Cruel – Bobby Brown: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 24, 1989). "Consumer Guide Jan. 24, 1989". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Tannenbaum, Rob (1989-09-07). "Bobby Brown's Uneasy Passage". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  4. ^ Easlea, Daryl. "BBC - Music - Review of Bobby Brown - Don't Be Cruel". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  5. ^ Eddy, Chuck (March 2011). "Essentials: R&B Rubs Hip-Hop the Right Way and the New Jack Swing Era Is Born". Spin. New York: 84. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  6. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America.
  7. ^ "Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums : Page 1". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  8. ^ https://www.discogs.com/release/27334773-Bobby-Brown-Dont-Be-Cruel [bare URL]
  9. ^ "Steve Hoffman Music Forums: Iconoclassic Records (reissue label) - active again!".