Songfacts®:

• "Two Occasions" is a lush, synth-draped R&B slow jam built around one of the simplest and most memorable hooks in Babyface's catalog:
  
  I only think of you on two occasions
  That's day and night
  
  Babyface leans on seasonal imagery throughout the song, comparing a "summer love," a "winter love," an "autumn love" and a "springtime love" to argue that fleeting, temporary romances can't compare to a love that lasts through every season, and therefore occupies the singer's mind constantly, day and night. Most people think about their love interest a few times a day; Babyface streamlined the whole process down to 24/7.
• Babyface wrote "Two Occasions" with his Deele bandmate Darnell "Dee" Bristol, along with Sid Johnson, who managed Babyface's early group Manchild. The track became one of the first major songwriting credits, arriving right before he and L.A. Reid established themselves as a hitmaking R&B production duo.
• Babyface and Reid produced the track for The Deele's third album, Eyes of a Stranger. Its polished digital production, electronic drums, and heavy synthesizers offered an early preview of the sleek sound the pair would refine after launching LaFace Records.
• By the time Eyes of a Stranger was in production, The Deele were phasing Babyface out as a front-facing singer. The plan was for him to focus on writing and producing behind the scenes before stepping away from the group entirely to launch his solo career and his partnership with Reid.
  
  Then recording day for "Two Occasions" arrived. The band member assigned to sing the main part skipped the session to go to a Halloween party.
  
  With a missing singer, Babyface stepped up to fill in, turning the track into a full-group effort. The lead vocals swap between Babyface, Darnell "Dee" Bristol, and Carlos "Satin" Greene. They mirrored this dynamic on television, most notably during their Soul Train performance on January 30, 1988, where the three singers took turns stepping up to a single center microphone.
  
  "Two Occasions" became The Deele's only Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave Babyface his first Top 10 appearance as a performer. "The last thing we expected was that 'Two Occasions' would be the main big hit," Babyface recalled. "The only reason I sang on that song was because the vocalist who was supposed to sing that part didn't show up at the studio that day!"
• Eyes of a Stranger earned a Gold certification, helped along by the success of "Two Occasions" and the follow-up single, "Shoot 'Em Up Movies," which reached #10 on the R&B chart.
• Babyface and Reid left The Deele in 1988 to launch LaFace Records. From there, Babyface became an unstoppable force in pop and R&B, penning and producing massive hits for Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton and Boyz II Men.
• The track's afterlife on the charts didn't end in the '80s:
  
  Mariah Carey nodded to the song in her 2005 #1 hit " We Belong Together" by quoting the phrase "I only think of you." For the remix, she quoted even more of the original hook, earning Babyface, Bristol, and Johnson official songwriting credits.
  
  Next sampled and quoted the track on their 1998 single "I Still Love You" (from Rated Next). It became a Top 15 Hot 100 hit and a Top 5 R&B hit.
  
  Cover versions include a rendition by Kotch in 1988 and a 1997 cover by The Whispers for their tribute album Songbook, Volume 1: The Songs of Babyface.