“Treat Her Right“
Sawyer Brown
Written by Ava Aldridge and Lenny LeBlanc
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
July 19, 1996
The final No. 1 single of the decade from a seminal nineties band.
The Road to No. 1
After “This Time” went to No. 1, “I Don’t Believe in Goodbye” went top five. Sawyer Brown then released their next studio album, This Thing Called Wantin’ and Havin’ it All, which produced two top twenty hits: the title track and “‘Round Here.” The third and final single from the album became their final No. 1 single of the decade.
The No. 1
I love the sentiment of this song. The message is sweet and simple: If you want love to last, treat your woman right.
The lyrics are clunky, though, and the usually on-point Mark Miller gives a mediocre vocal performance. I can’t even put that on him completely, since it sounds like he’s trying to create a melody for a song that arrived without one.
I hate to end on this note with Sawyer Brown, since they’re one of my favorite bands and they had so many other singles that were great but didn’t go to No. 1.
But this one did, and it’s a dud.
The Road From No. 1
Their studio album Six Days On the Road did well at radio, with the title track going top fifteen and “This Night Won’t Last Forever” going top ten. They finally won a vocal group award from one of the major industry organizations during the Six Days album cycle, taking home the trophy at the 1997 ACM Awards. Their 1999 album Drive Me Wild produced their most recent top ten hit with the title track, giving them a healthy fifteen year span of hits dating back to 1984.
Grade: C
Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties
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Agreed on the review, which also pains me as a Sawyer Brown fan.
What’s the grade?
I added it. I must have been subconsciously avoiding the pain of giving a band I love so much such a low grade for its final No. 1 single. Thank God “Betty’s Got a Bass Boat” wasn’t a No. 1 hit.
Miller tries to inject some intensity and urgency to the limp lyrics, but they just hang their and flutter with no real form or even melody, as Kevin pointed out. Sounds more like a brainstorming session for writing than an actual song. It is a dud.