R&B number-one hits of 1988 (USA) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1988:

Chart history

Issue Date	Song	Artist
January 2	The Way You Make Me Feel The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Released by Epic Records in November 1987, it was the third single from Jackson's seventh studio album Bad. Written and composed by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones , the song is credited as being a pop and R&B...	Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
January 9	The Way You Make Me Feel	Michael Jackson
January 16	The Way You Make Me Feel	Michael Jackson
January 23	Love Overboard Love Overboard "Love Overboard" is a 1987 single by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The single was significant because it was the first Top 40 hit in eleven years, and their final top 40 release as well. "Love Overboard" was the group's last of ten, number one hits on the Hot Black Singles chart, where it stayed...	Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...
January 30	I Want Her I Want Her "I Want Her" is a 1987 single from R&B singer Keith Sweat. As the first single from his debut album, Make It Last Forever, it reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart for three weeks. and became the most successful number one single...	Keith Sweat Keith Sweat Keith Sweat is an American R&B/soul, singer-songwriter, record producer, radio personality and a major contributor to the new jack swing era.-Music career:...
February 6	I Want Her	Keith Sweat
February 13	I Want Her	Keith Sweat
February 20	Girlfriend Girlfriend (Pebbles song) "Girlfriend" is a 1987 single from R&B singer Pebbles' self-titled debut album. Reaching number five on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, it was one of her biggest hits...	Pebbles
February 27	Girlfriend	Pebbles
March 5	You Will Know You Will Know "You Will Know" is a hit 1988 R&B ballad by American singer-songwriter and Motown music great Stevie Wonder, taken from his Characters album.It is the opening track on the album, and is the second single from the album as well...	Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
March 12	Fishnet	Morris Day Morris Day Morris E. Day is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.-1970s and 1980s:...
March 19	Fishnet	Morris Day
March 26	Man in the Mirror Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song recorded by Michael Jackson and written and composed by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett. It peaked at number one in the United States when released as a single in January 1988 off his seventh solo album, Bad. It is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs and...	Michael Jackson
April 2	Wishing Well	Terence Trent D'Arby
April 9	Ooo La La La Ooo La La La "Ooo La La La" is a single by American R&B singer Teena Marie, which was released in 1988 and is featured on her album Naked to the World, released during the same year...	Teena Marie Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...
April 16	Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" is a number one single by singer Billy Ocean. Part of its popularity lay in its cutting-edge video, which featured cartoon mixed with live-action sequences. The song went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Black Singles chart. It also...	Billy Ocean Billy Ocean Billy Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
April 23	Da Butt	E.U. Experience Unlimited Experience Unlimited is a Washington, D.C.-based go-go band that enjoyed its height of popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fronted by lead singer/bassist Gregory "Sugarbear" Eliot, the group has had a fluctuating membership over the years, but they have maintained a fairly loyal following...
April 30	Nite and Day Nite and Day "Nite and Day" is a 1988 single by Al B. Sure! from the Warner Bros. album In Effect Mode. It reached number seven on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart....	Al B. Sure! Al B. Sure! Albert Jason Brown III is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He grew up in Leonia, New Jersey and Mount Vernon, New York. During the late 1980s under the stage name Al B...
May 7	Nite and Day	Al B. Sure!
May 14	Nite and Day	Al B. Sure!
May 21	Mercedes Boy Mercedes Boy "Mercedes Boy" is a 1988 single by Pebbles from her self-titled debut album. It reached #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It was performed on Soul Train where it was predicted to become a top ten hit. "Mercedes Boy" also peaked at number two for two weeks on...	Pebbles
May 28	Just Got Paid Just Got Paid "Just Got Paid" is a 1988 crossover single by singer/songwriter Johnny Kemp. The song made it to number one on the U.S. R&B singles and dance charts and reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100...	Johnny Kemp Johnny Kemp Johnny Kemp is a Bahamian R&B singer and dancer. He began singing in nightclubs in the Bahamas at 13. He moved to New York in 1979 with the band "Kinky Fox." His self-titled debut album came out in 1986 and he scored a minor hit with "Just Another Lover." True success came the following year,...
June 4	Just Got Paid	Johnny Kemp
June 11	Little Walter Little Walter (song) "Little Walter" is the title of the debut single by Tony! Toni! Toné!. Taken as the lead single from the R&B band's debut album, Who, the hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. It also peaked at forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100...	Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American Soul/R&B group from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy...
June 18	One More Try One More Try (George Michael song) "One More Try" is a U.S. number-one hit song written and performed by George Michael and released by Epic Records in 1988 as the fourth single from Faith.-History:...	George Michael George Michael George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
June 25	Joy Joy (Teddy Pendergrass song) "Joy" is a 1988 single by Teddy Pendergrass. The single became Teddy Pendergrass' first number one on the Black Singles chart in ten years, where it stayed for two weeks. The single was also his first solo entry on the Hot 100 in seven years.. "Joy" also peaked at number forty-two on the dance...	Teddy Pendergrass Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...
July 2	Joy	Teddy Pendergrass
July 9	Paradise Paradise (Sade song) "Paradise" is a 1988 song by Sade. The single, from the album Stronger Than Pride, was Sade's most successful on the US R&B chart, peaking at number one for one week, and peaking at number sixteen on the Hot 100. "Paradise" was also a hit on the dance charts, where it peaked at number twenty-one...	Sade Sade (band) Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
July 16	Roses Are Red	The Mac Band The Mac Band The Mac Band was an R&B group from Flint, Michigan, formed by four brothers as the primary vocalists. Their first album included production by Babyface and members of Atlantic Starr, and one of the tracks from the album, "Roses Are Red" reached #1 on the U.S. R&B chart and reached the Top 10 in the... featuring the McCampbell Brothers
July 23	Don't Be Cruel Don't Be Cruel (Bobby Brown song) "Don't Be Cruel" is a song performed by R&B artist Bobby Brown. Taken from his second and most successful album as its title track, the song was written and produced by the R&B production duo Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Antonio "L.A." Reid....	Bobby Brown Bobby Brown Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
July 30	Don't Be Cruel	Bobby Brown
August 6	Off on Your Own (Girl) Off on Your Own (Girl) "Off on Your Own " is a 1988 single by Al B. Sure!. The single was the second release from his debut album, "In Effect Mode", and peaked at number one on the Black Singles chart for two weeks. "Off on Your Own " also peaked at number forty-five on the Hot 100..-References:...	Al B. Sure!
August 13	Off On Your Own (Girl)	Al B. Sure!
August 20	Loosey's Rap Loosey's Rap "Loosey's Rap" is a 1988 single by Rick James with a rap performed by Roxanne Shante. The single was one of the last of Rick James' releases to make the Hot Black Singles chart, and was his first number one on the Black Singles chart since 1983. "Loosey's Rap" was also the last of four number...	Rick James Rick James James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B... featuring Roxanne Shanté Roxanne Shanté Roxanne Shanté is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the Juice Crew....
August 27	Nice N Slow	Freddie Jackson Freddie Jackson Frederick Anthony "Freddie" Jackson is an American soul singer. He was an important figure in R&B during the 1980s and early 1990s...
September 3	Nice N Slow	Freddie Jackson
September 10	Nice N Slow	Freddie Jackson
September 17	Another Part of Me Another Part of Me "Another Part of Me" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's seventh solo album, Bad , the song was originally featured in Jackson's 1986 3-D film Captain EO. It is the sixth song on the album...	Michael Jackson
September 24	She's On the Left She's On the Left "She's On the Left" is a 1988 single by Jeffrey Osborne. The single was the most successful of Osborne's solo career, reaching the number-one spot on the Black Singles chart and becoming his only number one. "She's On the Left" was his last release to make the Hot 100 peaking at number forty-eight...	Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...
October 1	Addicted to You	LeVert LeVert LeVert is a R&B/pop music singing group, formed in Ohio in 1984, comprising Sean and Gerald Levert, the sons of O'Jays founder Eddie Levert, as well as Marc Gordon.-Biography:The group released their first single, "I'm Still", for Harry Coombes' Tempre label...
October 8	Addicted to You	LeVert
October 15	My Prerogative My Prerogative "My Prerogative" is a song by American recording artist Bobby Brown from his second solo studio album, Don't Be Cruel. It was released on October 11, 1988 as the second single from the album. After recording sessions for the album were completed, Brown and producer Gene Griffin travelled to New...	Bobby Brown
October 22	My Prerogative	Bobby Brown
October 29	The Way You Love Me The Way You Love Me (Karyn White song) "The Way You Love Me" was the first single from R&B singer Karyn White's self-titled debut album. The song peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 chart, #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and at #5 on the dance chart. It also reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart...	Karyn White Karyn White Karyn White was a new jack swing singer who became popular during the late 1980s.-Biography:White was born in Los Angeles,to the parentage of Vivian and Clarence White. She is the youngest of five children...
November 5	Any Love	Luther Vandross Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
November 12	Giving You the Best That I Got Giving You the Best That I Got (song) "Giving You the Best That I Got" is the title of a 1988 song by the American R&B / soul jazz singer Anita Baker. The song appears on Baker's album of the same name, which was released in the fall of that year...	Anita Baker Anita Baker Anita Baker is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit....
November 19	Giving You the Best That I Got	Anita Baker
November 26	Thanks for My Child Thanks for My Child "Thanks for My Child" is a 1988 debut single by Cheryl Pepsii Riley. The single would be the most successful release for Riley on the Hot Black Singles, and would be her only release to make the Hot 100. "Thanks for My Child" made the Top 40 pop charts peaking at number thirty-two, and reached...	Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley
December 3	Hey Lover	Freddie Jackson
December 10	Dial My Heart Dial My Heart "Dial My Heart" was the 1988 debut single by The Boys. The single on the Motown label was a crossover hit for the group, peaking at number thirteen on the Hot 100, and topping the Hot Black Singles chart for one week...	The Boys The Boys (band) The Boys is an American R&B quartet composed of the four Abdulsamad brothers, Khiry , Hakeem , Tajh , and Bilal . The group started out singing in Carson, California. The group had three #1 singles on the R&B charts but never had a mainstream pop #1.-Early years:The Boys were encouraged by their...
December 17	Everything I Miss at Home Everything I Miss at Home "Eveything I Miss at Home" is a 1988 single by Cherrelle. The single was one of the most successful on her career, peaking at number one on The Black Singles chart for one week. Unlike previous Cherrelle releases, "Everything I Miss at Home" did not chart on the Hot 100.-References:...	Cherrelle Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton, better known by her stage name, Cherrelle , is an American R&B singer who gained fame in the 1980s...
December 24	Tumblin' Down	Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers Ziggy Marley David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...
December 31	Tumblin' Down	Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers

Chart comparisons

Six songs have reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Five of them charted the same year: "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man In the Mirror," "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car," "Wishing Well" and "One More Try". "My Prerogative" did not top that chart until the year after.

Chart history

Chart comparisons

See also