Keith Sweat was born in Harlem, New York City, to Juanita Thompson, a hairdresser, and Charles Sweat, a factory worker. After Charles Sweat's passing in 1973, Juanita raised their five kids by herself. He worked as a night stock boy at Macy's Department Store, and then a mail room clerk at Paine Webber, a brokerage firm. In just four years he worked his way up to a lucrative brokerage assistant job on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.[2] Sweat also worked as a supervisor for the New York Mercantile Exchange.[1]
Sweat started his musical career as a member of a Harlem band called Jamilah in 1975.[3] With the help of Jamilah, Sweat was able to hone his craft as a lead singer by performing regionally throughout the tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The group was started by bassist Larry Peoples, guitarist Michael Samuels, and drummer Walter Bradley.[citation needed]
After leaving the group in 1984 to begin a solo career, he sang at nightclubs throughout New York City and landed a chance to record for the independent label, Stadium Records. Sweat recorded only two tunes for Stadium, "Lucky Seven", and "My Mind Is Made Up", which was their third and fourth ever release, but on Stadium's first release, he is credited as co-writer and co-producer of "You Are the One for Me", the last recording ever made by the group GQ. One of GQ's original members is his uncle, Keith "Sabu" Crier.
Later in 1987, Keith Sweat was discovered by Vincent Davis and offered a recording contract with his label, Vintertainment Records, which was founded in 1983 on the foundations of early Hip-Hop and otherwise best known for releasing Joeski Love's "Pee Wee's Dance" in 1985. Vintertainment was distributed by Elektra Records from 1985 until it ceased operations in 1990. On November 24, 1987, Sweat released his debut solo studio album Make It Last Forever, which sold three million copies. The biggest hit from this album was the song that inaugurated the new jack swing era "I Want Her"[5] (No. 1 R&B & No. 5 Pop), which was nominated for the 1989 Soul Train Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Song of the Year award, while the title track from the album hit No. 2 on the R&B charts. Sweat reached the charts again with his second album I'll Give All My Love to You (1990) which hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. He released his third album, Keep It Comin' in 1991, which debuted in the Top 20 of the album chart. He produced soul singer Omar Chandler.
In 1992, Sweat discovered the group Silk, and helped craft their debut album, Lose Control, which hit No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[6]
The album's single "Freak Me" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 1, 1993. In 1993, Sweat discovered the Atlanta-based female R&B group Kut Klose. Sweat also produced the group's debut album Surrender, which produced their biggest hit single "I Like", peaking to No. 8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
Sweat released his fourth album Get Up on It in the summer of 1994, and his self-titled fifth album in 1996. Both albums reached the top ten on the Billboard 200. The single co/produced and written by Eric McCaine "Twisted" featuring R&B group Kut Klose hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Nobody" hit No. 3, which made them Sweat's biggest hits to date. "Just A Touch" was a cover of the 1979 song "Just a Touch of Love" by Slave. He produced R&B group Dru Hill in 1996.
In the fall of 1997, Sweat discovered the group Ol' Skool and helped with their self-titled debut. He was on their biggest single, "Am I Dreaming", which featured the R&B group Xscape. Sweat also formed the R&B supergroup LSG with Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill, and released their self-titled debut album Levert.Sweat.Gill in 1997.[7] That album featured "My Body", which became a hit single. The album was certified double platinum and reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Sweat's sixth album, Still in the Game was released in 1998, hitting No. 6 on the Billboard 200, and No. 2 on the R&B/Hip Hop albums chart. It featured the singles "Come and Get With Me" (which featured Snoop Dogg) (No. 12 Hot 100) and "I'm Not Ready" (No. 16 Hot 100). Sweat's success on the charts started to diminish in 2000, when he released the album Didn't See Me Coming. None of the singles from the album reached the top forty.
On August 13, 2002, Keith Sweat released his eighth album, Rebirth. The single "One on One" reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.His 2008 album Just Me included the single, "Love U Better (featuring Keyshia Cole)". Sweat is currently signed to Kedar Records and released his tenth studio album entitled Ridin' Solo on June 22, 2010. The lead single taken from the album is "Test Drive" and featured label-mate Joe. Since 2007, Sweat has been the host of a nationally syndicated radio program based upon the Quiet storm format. The Keith Sweat Hotel (known as The Quiet Storm with Keith Sweat on WBLS in New York City) is syndicated through Premiere Radio Networks.[8]
Sweat is also the host of a nationally syndicated radio show called The Sweat Hotel, which I s produced and distributed to urban adult contemporary and classic soul radio stations across the U.S. by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc.[9]
Candy Store
Keith Sweat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can I take you back, take you back girl
To the candy store, candy store, whoa
Can I take you back, take you back baby
Can I take you back, take you back girl
To the candy store, candy store whoa
I took a trip to where we used to live
? , had a sign that said she don't live here no more
Went to the neighbors asked because ?
You're the only one for me
Love's the only thing in life that is free
Now all I have left is just a memory
[Chorus]
I remember when you were young,
Back in the days of bubble gum
And the only thing that mattered in life
Was the candy store, down on the corner
All the kids in the neighborhood,
Would get money from the parents if they were good
And we were good, we would all gather around at the candy store
Down on the corner
That's when I first saw you girl, yeah, yeah, yeah
Looking so sweet, I said, how do you do, at the candy store
Down on the corner
You were my girlfriend, I was your boyfriend ?
I met you, at the candy store
[Chorus]
? in the back, sunroof top, TV in the seat with the gangster lean
Holler at the shawty, with the afro puff
Light blue halter top with bell bottoms with tops
Hat to the back, tube socks to the knee
Me and my girlfriend, carved her name in the tree
We often fantasized about a life with me
Now all I have left is just a memory
Miss Mary Mac, Mac, Mac, all dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back
She asked her mother, mother, mother for fifteen cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants,
Jump over the fence, fence, fence
[Chorus: x2]
If you remember the candy store
Everybody clap your hands
If you remember the candy store and how it used to be
Just clap your hands
If you remember the candy store
And how it made you feel good
Close your eyes
If you remember the candy store
And wanna go back lemnme hear you say yeah
The lyrics of Keith Sweat's "Candy Store" song might initially come off as a sweet love song, but it is actually a nostalgic look back at childhood memories. The song opens with the title being repeated, followed by the singer's attempt to convince someone to go back with him to the candy store where they first met. He talks about how he recently visited the neighborhood where they grew up and how it was all still there. However, the girl he wants to take back to the candy store no longer lives there, and he's left with only a memory of her.
The chorus of the song talks about the childhood joy the neighborhood kids had surrounding the candy store on the corner. It was the place where everyone went to buy sweets and where a young Keith Sweat first laid eyes on his love interest. The second verse uses vivid descriptions of the time where he met the girl at the candy store. He reminisces about how they used to dress and how they fantasized about their future together. The listener is then reminded of a childhood clapping game as the song ends.
Overall, Keith Sweat's "Candy Store" is a story of longing for a time when life was simpler with less bittersweet experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Can I take you back, take you back
Asking for permission to relive past memories with the person
To the candy store, candy store, whoa
Revisiting the fun times of youth
I took a trip to where we used to live
Visited the hometown
The tree was still there we carved our names in as kids
Nostalgic for youthful memories
Love's the only thing in life that is free
The person values love over material things
Now all I have left is just a memory
Realizing that the good times are in the past
I remember when you were young
Reflecting on the past memories of the person
And the only thing that mattered in life
Emphasizing the simplicity of childhood
All the kids in the neighborhood
Remembering the community of youths
Down on the corner
Memorizing the details of the location
That's when I first saw you girl, yeah, yeah, yeah
Recalling the first encounter with the person
Looking so sweet, I said, how do you do, at the candy store
Attracted to the person in a youthful setting
You were my girlfriend, I was your boyfriend
The beginning of young love
Me and my girlfriend, carved her name in the tree
Showing affection with an act of vandalism
Now all I have left is just a memory
The present being less enjoyable than the past
Miss Mary Mac, Mac, Mac, all dressed in black, black, black
Recalling a childhood nursery rhyme
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back
Reciting vivid childhood memories
If you remember the candy store
Asking for participation
Everybody clap your hands
Encouraging a physical response
If you remember the candy store and how it used to be
Nostalgic for childhood memories
Close your eyes
Encouraging visualization of past memories
If you remember the candy store and wanna go back lemnme hear you say yeah
Endorsing the sentiment of desiring to relive past memories
Lyrics © THE ADMINISTRATION MP INC
Written by: KARLYTON CLANTON, KEITH D SWEAT, MARLON MCCLAIN, ROCHAD HOLIDAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind