Best Sad R&B Songs

http://randb.about.com/od...dSongs.htm

When You're Up for Feeling Down ...

By Mark Edward Nero, About.com

R&B may be lovers' music, but other than the Blues, there's also no better type of music to listen to when you're feeling down. So if you're good with feeling bad, if you're up to feeling down, if you get high on feeling low, then try some of these songs by Ne-Yo, Toni Braxton, Al Green, Roberta Flack and others, which all explore heartache, pain, suffering, grief and various other emotions relating to sadness. So if you're going through a tough time, take some comfort in the fact that plenty of great singers have been there before and have felt your pain.



"Love T.K.O.," Teddy Pendergrass
"Love T.K.O." is about how sometimes love beats you down when you try to battle it. Other singers, including Regina Belle and Hall & Oates, have also recorded versions of this song, but Teddy's version is head and shoulders above the crowd.



"Torn," LeToya
Ever been in a relationship where you go back and forth on whether to hang in there for the long haul or just give up and break out? Well, that's what this song by ex-Destiny's Child member LeToya Luckett is about.



"Can't Let Go," Anthony Hamilton
This song is sad in two ways: one, it's sad that in the song, Anthony has lost the woman that he obviously loves so much. But it's also sad in the way that it epitomizes how some people can't or won't allow themselves to get over the grief and move on.


"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)," Marvin Gaye
Way before 2Pac and a host of imitators ever talked about life in the mean streets, the late, great Marvin Gaye sang about ghetto life and how the deck is stacked against poor folks. "Makes me wanna holler, the way they do my life."



"Killing Me Softly With His Song," Roberta Flack
Lauryn Hill's vocals on the Fugees version are perhaps better, but nothing beats the original musically.


"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?," Al Green
The title says it all. Painful though the song is, it's also arguably the most shining moment in Reverend Al's long, glorious career. The Bee Gees may have done the song first, but Al did it best.



"Do You," Ne-Yo
I mean, who hasn't wondered at least once if their ex still thinks about them sometimes? Ne-Yo's knack for great songwriting came through again on this song, which is the second single from his Because of You album. If you get a chance, check out the remix with Mary J. Blige. Not quite as great, but still very good.


"Kiss & Say Goodbye," The Manhattans
Breaking up is hard to do. Enough said.



"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," Boyz II Men
This song's a favorite at proms, graduation ceremonies and even funerals, all across the U.S., and for good reason. Letting go of the past and moving on can be tough. Just ask Anthony Hamilton.


"911," Wyclef Jean & Mary J. Blige
"Someone please call 911, Tell them I just been shot down, And the bullet's in my heart, And it's piercing through my soul, Feel my body gettin' cold." Bad love can definitely make for good music sometimes, and this is a perfect example. Or, as Wyclef sang on the song: "If this is the kind of love that my mom used to warn me about, Man, I'm in trouble, I'm in real big trouble."



"Un-Break My Heart," Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton's finest moment as a singer came when she managed to reach the lowest of lows emotionally. Damn, this song is so sad it can make people cry for hours at a time.

when i see this list i wonder , whats the difference between soul and R&B ?

motownlover said:

Well the saddest SOUL song IMO is "I Miss You" - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes

"Who gonna check me boo?"

Boriqua1130 said: It's never too late, to be "Experienced"

The saddest soul song to me is Marvin's "Just to Keep You Satisfied".

Timmy84 said:

"Who gonna check me boo?"

Boriqua1130 said: It's never too late, to be "Experienced"

missfee said:

Timmy84 said:

The saddest soul song to me is Marvin's "Just to Keep You Satisfied".

Funny you say that, I consider this song to be a "i'm sick of your mouth so I'm getting the hell out" type of song rather than a sad one. Yes its sad to divorce someone, but the way Marvin put in this song, IMO, is that he was glad to be rid of her.

Timmy84 said:

missfee said:

Funny you say that, I consider this song to be a "i'm sick of your mouth so I'm getting the hell out" type of song rather than a sad one. Yes its sad to divorce someone, but the way Marvin put in this song, IMO, is that he was glad to be rid of her.

I always look at it as the demise of a marriage, lol

Yeah it's nice to read between the lines and it sure sounds like "I'm rid of you" but he's not totally HAPPY about it, you know?

"Who gonna check me boo?"

Boriqua1130 said: It's never too late, to be "Experienced"

missfee said:

My list would have when something like this...

Milira- Go outside in the Rain


Roxette- It must have been love


Marvin Gaye- Distant Lover


Aretha Franklin- Today I sing the blues

The message you are about to hear are not meant for transmission. Should ONLY be accessed in the privacy of your mind. Words are so intense so if you dare to listen.Take off your clothes and meet me between the lines.

I'm the opposite when I'm feeling down. If someone I love dies, I play songs that that person loved but I don't play their slow favorites, I play their fast favorites because if I'm already feeling down, why would I want to feel lower? I want something that's going to pick me up.

If I'm mad, I listen to the hardest hard rock or heavy metal I can find. Something that goes along with my mood with wanting to smash something.

The only time I listen to slow songs is when I'm horny or in the act of sleeping with someone. And the slow songs I listen to are sexy after midnight type slow jams. I only like slow songs that serve the purpose of being played during sex. Slow "meaningful" type songs that you just sit and listen to only help to depress me more when I'm depressed.

This was the first song that popped into my mind as I read the title of this thread...

... probably because I've been listening to a lot Eddie's music in the past couple of days

Eddie Kendricks - This Used To Be The Home Of Johnnie Mae



"This used to be her easy chair
but the chair looks uneasy without her sitting there"

vainandy said:

daPrettyman said:


"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," Boyz II Men
This song's a favorite at proms, graduation ceremonies and even funerals, all across the U.S., and for good reason. Letting go of the past and moving on can be tough. Just ask Anthony Hamilton.

I played this song at my mother's funeral but I played the original by GC Cameron. I wouldn't be caught dead playing anything by Boyz II Men. But if it were left completely up to me, I would have played "Do Not Pass Me By" by MC Hammer which I feel would have been appropriate. It's a gospel song that even has a choir on it. It just happens to be fast but hell, why not? Actually death should be a celebration of the deceased person going to a much better place. My relatives would have had a stroke though.
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[Edited 10/15/09 13:19pm]

LoveIsTheMessage said:

This was the first song that popped into my mind as I read the title of this thread...

... probably because I've been listening to a lot Eddie's music in the past couple of days

Eddie Kendricks - This Used To Be The Home Of Johnnie Mae



"This used to be her easy chair
but the chair looks uneasy without her sitting there"

*R.I.P MJ*...*And Thank You SO Much!*

I don't even know if these are sad songs but they make me feel sad..

The Past by Ray Parker Jr.


Thanks for my child by Cheryl Pepsii Riley

[Edited 10/15/09 13:34pm]

Nice thread, and another good chance to shamelessly hype my radio show.
We did a special Deep Soul Tearjerkers earlier this year, playing the saddest Soul ballads. It's two hours of crying, whining and hollering, check it out:

http://wrir.org/x/modules...oryid=8928

vainandy said:

Well, when I die, I want "Holy Ghost" by The Barkays played at my funeral. I want the asses and the walls in that damn funeral home shakin'.

vainandy said:

Change hollering to begging and it sounds like you're doing a best of Keith Sweat show.

MrSoulpower said:

vainandy said:

Change hollering to begging and it sounds like you're doing a best of Keith Sweat show.

That. Ain't. Soul. Music.

vainandy said:

Well, when I die, I want "Holy Ghost" by The Barkays played at my funeral. I want the asses and the walls in that damn funeral home shakin'.

noimageatall said:

vainandy said:

Well, when I die, I want "Holy Ghost" by The Barkays played at my funeral. I want the asses and the walls in that damn funeral home shakin'.

I always thought these were pretty sad:

For the time being...

Love is just like the faucet
It turns off and on
Sometimes when you think it's on baby
It has turned off and gone


Lady Day

How about "Congratulations" by Vesta Williams?

Don't know what exactly this is about, but the opening two lines and the fade out make me think of someone lonely.