Why O’Bryan Says His New Song ‘Good Man’ is a ‘Rebuttal’ for ‘Underappreciated Men’

*R&B ladies man O’Bryan, whose 80s hits “The Gigolo,” “Lovelite,” “Lady I Love You” and “You and I” brought him fame during his late teens and early 20s, is back with a new anthem for men – particularly African American men – who feel underappreciated in their own homes.

“Good Man,” the singer says, is a “rebuttal” of sorts for hard-working husbands and fathers. “Men sometimes go through a day and come home and they’re still not appreciated, and they’re still being told that they are … I’ll just say ‘s.’ They’re still being put down in some sort of way by their spouse or their honey,” O’Bryan said during a phone interview with EURweb’s Lee Bailey. “This [song] is something that can say, ‘Listen – I get up every day, most times before the sun even comes up. I’m up and I’m getting ready. I’m dressed before the next household is even up.’ It’s one of those songs where it just covers so much and is so special.”

O’Bryan McCoy Burnette II, 57, said he’s always working on music these days.  The musician said he was walking around the grounds of his North Carolina home, “taking life in and reminiscing,” when the lyrics of “Good Man”  surfaced and “kind of wrote itself.” He said the uplifting ballad was inspired in part by watching his father “get up and do his thing every day.”

O’Bryan and his management believe the track is “divinely ordered.” After spending two weeks writing the lyrics and singing them to music played through his iPhone speakers, O’Bryan said he took just 45 minutes to record the song– and nailed it in one take. “Sometimes you get into the studio and you have to rework stuff. I didn’t have to rework anything. It was just magic,” he added.

O’Bryan’s manager, CL Reddon, introduced a new workman-like approach to the recording process that he believes contributed to the song’s sheen. In the audio extra below, Redden explains why he treated the sessions as “work days,”  the tears shed in the studio, and the spirit of O’Bryan’s mentor, “Soul Train” creator and host Don Cornelius, “driving this as well.”

It’s been about a year since the release of O’Bryan’s last single “What I Want,” and two years since he pulled his ballads from the vault for the album, “For the Love of You: The Ballad Collection.”  The retrospective album came 10 years after his first post-80s comeback album, 2007’s aptly-titled “F1rst.” The singer’s camp is taking a wait and see approach toward a new album release behind “Good Man.” In the meantime, O’Bryan is hoping his latest effort will encourage men who feel that they’re under attack.

“This for me has the potential to touch people in a different way than just a regular old love song,” said O’Bryan. “This has the potential to heal as well, to give to someone, especially men, a rebuttal. Something to say when you’re underappreciated, or just something to play for yourself when you’re feeling like you’re the only one. When you listen to this song, you know that there are other people just like you that are trying to keep it together and trying to make a difference in their lives and the lives of their families and loved ones.”

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