Be Good To Me

"Be Good To Me" is a single by jazz singer Riley Brendan. It was the third single released from "Days Go By" in the United States in place of "Eternity", and was planned as the fifth UK single from the album with a July 4th release date, but plans were cancelled after Riley was attacked in a drive-by shooting. "Be Good To Me" is Riley's biggest hit to date in the States.

Background
"Be Good To Me" was written by Riley with a more adult audience in mind; the song has a more sensual and sexual lyric to go with Riley's crooning vocal style. Riley plays both piano and saxophone on the song, which has a light, uptempo piano-jazz sound. After America rejected "Eternity" as a single, "Be Good To Me" was chosen in its place, and Riley filmed a video for it. The single was released in May a week after "Eternity" was released in the UK. When Riley announced more UK tour dates, "Be Good To Me" was scheduled for a UK release on July 4th, but after Riley was gunned down by a drive-by shooter the tour dates and the single were cancelled as Riley was rushed back to the US for his health. Since the UK single release was cancelled, Riley's cover of the Vanessa Amorosi single "My House" (which was featured on both planned UK formats) remains unreleased.

Reception
The single was far better received in America than its UK alternative; enough so that it was a minor crossover pop hit, which helped it become Riley's biggest American single and his only top 40 hit in the States to date. The single was well-received in the UK as well upon release, and any disappointment over its cancellation was overridden with concern for Riley's health after he was shot.

Promo CD

 * 1) Be Good To Me (Album Version)
 * 2) Be Good To Me (Instrumental)
 * 3) Be Good To Me (Pop Radio Mix)

Cancelled UK CD

 * 1) Be Good To Me (Pop Radio Mix)
 * 2) My House

Cancelled UK Digital EP

 * 1) Be Good To Me (Pop Radio Mix)
 * 2) My House
 * 3) Be Good To Me (My Digital Enemy Remix)
 * 4) Be Good To Me (Wayne G Club Mix)
 * 5) Be Good To Me (Lost Daze Vocal Mix)

US Digital EP

 * 1) Be Good To Me (Album Version)
 * 2) Waiting For Time (Album Version)
 * 3) Be Good To Me (Eddie Baez Anthem Mix)
 * 4) Be Good To Me (SugarDip Club Mix)
 * 5) Be Good To Me (Music Video)

Music Video
The video is a random collection of scenes, with only one story scene threading everything together. It begins with Riley on a busy street outside a restaurant, meeting his date. They greet, talk and laugh as they wait to be let inside. Interspersed through this are performance shots of Riley sitting on the stairs in a hotel lobby; the walls are painted gold, with yellow light reflected off them giving Riley a soft golden glow. We see Riley getting up from the stairs where he’s singing and approach the door. He continues to sing from behind the glass. Another performance scene shows Riley in a different outfit sitting by a roadside, also performing the song to the camera.

Riley and his date finally get inside the restaurant and are taken to their reserved table. They sit down to dinner, and in this scene Riley sings to her from across the table. Intercut with this are more various performance scenes – of Riley sitting at the dresser of a hotel room, of him standing outside by a stone wall, and more shots of him from the gutter; this time close-up shots of his face. We see more shots from the scene of Riley lounging in the gutter in his blue outfit while in the storyline scene, we see the end of Riley’s date, and him walking with her outside. We see yet another performance scene of Riley singing on the rooftops, and still more of Riley in the gutter, but the video comes to its conclusion with Riley stopping his date and giving her a kiss. They kiss for a few seconds as the song ends and the video fades out.

Chart Performance
"Be Good To Me" hit #1 on both Hot AC and AC radio formats in the US; it also crossed over to the pop format, peaking at #20. Its pop success helped the song's digital performance, enough so that the single peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Riley's only top 40 entry to date, and his highest-charting hit in America with a gold accreditiation for sales exceeding 500k.