Meli’sa Morgan Scores Her First RIAA Certification With Debut Album ‘Do Me Baby’
R&B singer and songwriter Meli’sa Morgan has scored her first award from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her 1986 solo debut album, Do Me Baby, has been certified gold, with over 500,000 copies sold. The singer took to social media to express her excitement about this career milestone.
“OMG…. AFTER OVER 35 YEARS….. I FINALLY EARNED A CERTIFIED GOLD ALBUM FOR MY FIRST ALBUM ‘DO ME BABY’ BY THE RIAA TODAY!!!” Morgan wrote. “I am in Tears!!!! Thank you God, and Thank you to The RIAA for helping me and CAPITOL/UNIVERSAL for not giving up and Believing me when I said, ‘I Know my First Album is at least Gold if not PLATINUM!!!!'”
Morgan also shared an uplifting message with her fans about the power of perseverance. “DON’T EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU, YOU CAN’T AND TRY TO STEAL YOUR DREAMS!!!!” she continued. “I have been told to forget about it, it was not going to happen and more negative things than I can remember!!! I NEVER gave up believing that I had a Gold or Platinum Album!!! I never stopped reaching out to people and pursing trying to get what I needed to make this a reality for years!!!”
Do Me Baby included the singles “Fool’s Paradise,” “Do You Still Love Me?” and the title track, a cover of Prince’s “Do Me, Baby” from his 1981 album, Controversy.
Morgan’s cover reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart (now called Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). Morgan co-wrote seven of the eight tracks on Do Me Baby. The only song she didn’t co-write was “Do Me, Baby,” written by Prince and André Cymone. Furthermore, Morgan was involved in the production of half of the album. In a 1986 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Morgan discussed how she “had to fight” with her label for that opportunity.
“Capitol didn’t understand. They were going to let Lesette [Wilson] produce because she has some experience. But they didn’t want me to do it because they said I was busy enough with the singing and songwriting,” Morgan said.
“Plus I didn’t have any experience. But I wouldn’t accept that. I had exposure to producing, enough to know I could do it. My attitude was that if they wanted those songs to be recorded, they had to let me be involved in producing them. I just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Do Me Baby peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard 200 chart. Following Do Me Baby, Morgan released five more albums, her latest being 2018’s Love Demands.
The album featured classic covers such as Otis Redding‘s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and Aretha Franklin‘s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” plus original songs, including the title track.