Junior Campbell

Junior Campbell - Second Time Around - 1974 - Deram

Listen to the 1969 Marmalade songs ""Reflections of My Life" and 1970's "Rainbow" composed by Junior Campbell and Dean Ford. They are two of the most beautiful late '60's/early '70's pop songs ever written. The songs on this album don't measure up to that standard, but JC's "Sweet Illusion" and the great "Hallelujah Freedom" come pretty close. Junior also covers the Beatles' "Drive My Car" and Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street". Quite a good album by a very underrated musician and vocalist. This album was re-issued in 1977 with 24 extra tracks and in 2001 with 40 extra tracks [Tracks @ 192-320 Kbps: File size = 63.9 Mb]

TRACKS

A1 (Reach Out And) Help Your Fellow Man 3:54
A2 Drive My Car 3:05
A3 Carolina Days 4:20
A4 Wandering Man 3:35
A5 Somethin' Deep In My Soul 3:10
A6 Pretty Belinda 3:10

B1 Sweet Illusion 3:35
B2 Alone In My Room 3:50
B3 All Gonna Have A Good Time 3:20
B4 Positively 4th Street 4:10
B5 Hallelujah Freedom 4:10

All songs composed by Junior Campbell except "Drive My Car" by Lennon & McCartney, and "Positively 4th Street" by Bob Dylan

MUSICIANS

Junior Campbell - Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica, Producer, Arranged By [Orchestral Accompaniment], Conductor
Gordon Huntley RIP - Pedal Steel Guitar
Graham Knight, Mark Griffiths, Rick West - Bass Guitar
Raymond Duffy - Drums, Percussion
Pete Zorn - Alto Saxophone, Flute
Barry St. John, Irene Chanter, Ruby James - Backing Vocals

BIO (WIKI)

Junior Campbell (born William Campbell, 31 May 1947) is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, piano player, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", "I See The Rain" and "Rainbow". He also wrote and produced his own solo hits, Hallelujah Freedom and Sweet Illusion. Campbell is also known for composing music for film and television drama, and as an arranger and producer for many musicians including Barbara Dickson. He is also known for co-composing the music and lyrics for the children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and TUGS. Campbell was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in Springboig, in the east end of Glasgow, and was educated at Thorntree Primary in Greenfield and Eastbank Academy in Shettleston. His paternal grandfather Alfredo Cancellari was an Italian immigrant born near Lucca, Italy, who changed his surname to Campbell in the early 1900s when he settled in Scotland. As a youngster, Campbell had a distinct unique style of guitar playing, whereby he played left-handed, with the strings upside down, right hand strung - tuned to "open E". He joined Pat Fairley to form The Gaylords, on his fourteenth birthday in May 1961 (later to become Dean Ford & the Gaylords, then Marmalade in 1966), acting as lead guitarist, piano player, and singer. With Marmalade, he co-wrote and produced the multi-million-selling "Reflections of My Life", "Rainbow" and "I See the Rain" amongst others, in a line of hits from 1967 to 1971. Campbell's reverse tape guitar solo on "Reflections of My Life" and "I See the Rain" are particularly noteworthy - the latter was Jimi Hendrix's favourite cut of 1967. During his years with Marmalade, the band used Keith Mansfield as an orchestral arranger on their first record successes, including "Loving Things", "Wait For Me Mary Ann", "Obladi Oblada", "Baby Make It Soon" and Reflections of My Life, and Campbell studied Mansfield's scores at close range, was so impressed with the craft of arranging for orchestra, and the sound and expertise of orchestral musicians in the recording studio, that this led to a major turning point in his career, so much so, he then commenced arranging orchestral accompaniment on the band's sessions himself. Tired of touring, Campbell left Marmalade in March 1971. During the 1970s he had two self-penned solo records released, both of which, "Hallelujah Freedom" (#9) (1972), (with Doris Troy on backing vocals), and "Sweet Illusion" (#15) (1973) made Top 20 chart appearances in the UK Singles Chart. He then went on to study orchestration and composition with Eric Guilder and Max Saunders at the Royal College of Music and became an arranger and record producer for many artists including Barbara Dickson, arranging and producing her first hit single and album, "Answer Me". He also arranged and conducted Dickson's performances in her first-season run on the BBC Television series The Two Ronnies in 1976. Campbell has composed music for television drama and film, including the 1989 war film That Summer of White Roses (starring Tom Conti and Rod Steiger, Susan George and Alun Armstrong); and the 1994 BAFTA winner Taking Over the Asylum, which starred Ken Stott, David Tennant and Elizabeth Spriggs. He also composed the music for the 1998 BBC Television adaptation of the Minette Walters murder mystery The Scold's Bridle, starring Miranda Richardson, Bob Peck, Siân Phillips, Douglas Hodge, Trudie Styler, and Beth Winslet.Campbell also co-wrote the music and lyrics for the children's TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and TUGS with Mike O'Donnell, composing all music and songs during the classic period of Thomas films from 1984–2003. Campbell lives near Horsham in Sussex with his wife Susie, and has three children and three grandchildren.

Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks - Live And Learn - 1979 - A&M Records

"Live And Learn" was released on the back of two AOR hit singles "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "The Runaway", neither of which was included on this album. The legendary Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who had previously worked with Elkie Brooks produced the album and also had a hand in penning six of the album's 10 tracks. Elkie's early career was as a jazz blues singer. She was a member of the brilliant but short lived blues rock band, Vinegar Joe, which also included the late Robert Palmer. Around 1979, disco flavoured music was still popular and a big seller, and Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller produced the album with a strong funk and disco feel which was not popular with many of Elkie's blues fan base. Some of the songs on "Live And Learn" were released as singles without any chart success which greatly diminished this album's promotion by A&M. Also, Elkie had become pregnant while recording the album and A&M delayed promotion even further. Nevertheless, Elkie Brooks has long been one of Britain's greatest and most enduring jazz blues singers, and similar to vocalists like Paul Carrack, and Paul Rodgers, Elkie has the ability to often make a mediocre song sound good. This is not a mediocre album, and the disco element should not put you off listening to a good album. "Live and Learn" reached No.34 and was 6 weeks in the UK album charts. Interestingly, one track "He Could Of Been An Army" was written by Lieber, Stoller and the great Mickey Jupp. There are also songs by Alan Toussaint, Dozier & Holland and others. Elkie herself, helped write "Dreamdealer", and "Not Enough Lovin' Left". Musicians on the album include Paulinho Da Costa and Fred Tackett on guitar, Jean Roussel and Mike Stoller on keys, Hal Blaine on drums, the Tower of Power Horn Section, and Venetta Fields and Jim Gilstrap on backing vocals. Listen to Elkie's live "Don't Cry Out Loud" album, and her "Rich Man's Woman" album, and search this blog for related releases [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 89.4 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A1 Viva La Money - Alan Toussaint 3:23
A2 On The Horizon - Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller 3:31
A3 He Could Of Been An Army - Mickey Jupp, Leiber & Stoller 4:31
A4 The Rising Cost Of Love - Len Ron Hanks, Zane Grey, Bobby Martin 5:01
A5 Dreamdealer - Leiber, Stoller, Elike Brooks, Pete Gage 4:01

B1 Who's Making Love - Homer Banks, Don Davis, Bettye Crutcher, Raymond Jackson 3:37
B2 If You Can Beat Me Rockin' (You Can Have My Chair) - Ronald Dunbar, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland 3:22
B3 The Heartache Is On - Leiber, John Sembello 3:24
B4 Not Enough Lovin' Left - Brooks, Gage, Leiber, Stoller 3:48
B5 Falling Star - Leiber, Stoller 4:09

MUSICIANS

Elkie Brooks - Vocals
Marlow Henderson, Spencer Bean, Paulinho Da Costa, Paul Warren, Oliver Leiber, Fred Tackett, Tim May, Adam Chase Benay - Guitars
Scott Edwards, Ed Watkins Jr, Brian Garofalo - Bass
Jean Roussel - Keyboards
John Barnes, Mike Stoller - Piano/Keyboards
Michael Boddicker - Synthesizers
James Gadson, Ed Greene, Hal Blaine - Drums
Corky Hale - Harp
Lenny Pickett - Woodwind
Marni Robinson, Alan Robinson, Jim Decker, Steve Kupka, Emilio Castillo, Lenny Pickett, Mic Gillette, Greg Adams [Tower of Power Horn Section] - Horns
Venetta Fields, Darlene Love, Julia Tillman Waters, Maggie Henry, Jim Gilstrap, Oren Waters - Backing Vocals

SHORT BIO

British pop-jazz-blues crooner Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder) dominated U.K. radio in the late '70s with a series of hit singles that established her as "the biggest-selling female album artist in the history of the British pop charts." The Manchester native, who grew up in an extremely musical family, left school at the age of 15 to join a dance band in London. She eventually mad the jump to radio, as well as numerous appearances with legendary jazz bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton, before embarking on a career in pop music. The early '60s saw the budding young singer releasing singles for Decca and EMI, as well as opening for everyone from Carl Perkins to the Beatles, but commercial success remained elusive. She joined the blues-rock band Dada in 1970, which would eventually find success through a name change (Vinegar Joe) and the arrival of a new vocalist, Robert Palmer. The popular group released three beloved records before disbanding in 1974, and after a brief stint with U.S. Southern rock band Wet Willie, Brooks decided to take another crack at a solo career. The resulting Rich Man's Woman, Two Days Away, Shooting Star, Live & Learn, Pearls, and Pearls II, as well as frequent sold-out tours and numerous silver, gold, and platinum recordings, would go on to cement her reputation well into the 21st century. © James Christopher Monger © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/elkie-brooks-mn0000797077

Lesley Duncan

Lesley Duncan - Everything Changes - 1974 - GM Records

Born 12 August 1943 in Stockton-on-Tees, England. Died 12 March 2010 in Scotland on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Lesley Duncan was a pioneering singer-songwriter best known for her composition "Love Song", which was recorded by various artists including Elton John, Peggy Lee, David Bowie, Olivia Newton John and Dionne Warwick. Born in Stockton on Tees, she came to London in the mid-1960s and became one of the first female singer song writers of the pop era. Her early recordings, on labels such as Parlophone, Mercury and RCA, and including "Tell Me" and "See That Guy", attracted positive attention within the industry but failed to generate meaningful sales. During this time and throughout the next two decades she worked with other female artists and friends such as Dusty Springfield, Madeleine Bell, Kay Garner, Vicky Brown and Kiki Dee as a successful session singer. This close-knit group evolved a new type of American-influenced backing vocals for each other's recordings and for leading artists of the day. Lesley's distinctive vocals can be heard on many hit records throughout the '70s and '80s, including Elton John's Madman Across the Water, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Black Flower by the original Nirvana and Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna. Public recognition came in the early '70s when Elton John, whom she had known and worked with for many years, recorded her "Love Song" on his Tumbleweed Connection album with Duncan singing harmonies. Signing to CBS she released the albums Sing Children Sing and Earth Mother, working not only with Elton John but with other leading musicians such as Chris Spedding, Tristan Fry, Andy Bown, Terry Cox and her producer and first husband Jimmy Horowitz. Duncan was a gregarious, thoughtful and intelligent woman, her lyrics demonstrating her commitment to social-action issues, conservation and spiritual beliefs, including a strong interest in Buddhism and the peace movement. Earth Mother was dedicated to Friends of the Earth and reflected her passionate belief in preserving nature and the environment. Also buried within the lyrics of several of her compositions were more hidden references to close friends and to her much-loved sons Sam and Joe. Three subsequent albums – Everything Changes, Moonbathing and Maybe it's Lost – continued to build a cult following but lacked big commercial sales. Duncan's own interest in the music industry faded in favour of a more normal life in the countryside with her second husband, Tony Cox, in Cornwall, Oxfordshire and later Scotland. Cox – himself a highly regarded musician and producer – encouraged her on a couple of special projects such as a reworking of the Bob Dylan number "Masters of War" and a powerful version of "If I Could Change Your Mind" on the Alan Parson album Dammed if I Do. In 1979 she agreed to re-record "Sing Children Sing" with Kate Bush, Phil Lynott and Pete Townsend for the International Year of the Child. It generated considerable airplay and made it to the fringes of the charts. Duncan's heart, however, was firmly rooted in her new life in the countryside, including her voluntary work for Oxfam, photography and dedicated walking of the entourage of dogs she and Cox accumulated. Her warm-hearted nature, great sense of humour and generous spirit endeared her to a wide array of friends around the world. Life in her final home on the Isle of Mull generated a whole new network of friends largely unaware of her past existence in the pop world – or her still considerable worldwide following on numerous websites dedicated to her music. She was aware and appreciative of this constant and continued interest in her work but was never tempted to capitalise on it. © Richard Stanley - from [Lesley Duncan: Singer and songwriter who worked with Elton John and Pink Floyd Monday - Obituary from The Independent 12 April 2010] © independent.co.uk http://www.independent.co.uk

Active from the 1960s well into the 1980s, the late Lesley Duncan recorded several solo releases and sang backing vocals on recordings by many great artists including the Dave Clark 5, Donovan, Tim Hardin, Alan Hull, Ringo Starr, and Dusty Springfield. Both Lesley and Liza Strike sang backing vocals on Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig In The Sky" from the DSOTM album. As a songwriter she was best known for "Love Song", recorded in 1970 by Elton John. She is still a relatively obscure artist, and "Everything Changes", her 3rd album is a really good "undiscovered" album. The LP was never released in the US, although it did lead to her signing with MCA records in 1976. "Everything Changes" is full of good tuneful, soulful, mellow and melodic songs sung by a lady who was a wonderful songwriter with a truly unique vocal style. "The Serf" or "Watch the Tears" are great songs and worth mentioning. Her first husband, record producer and keyboardist Jimmy Horowitz gathered some of the top studio musicians in England to record on Lesley’s albums. Peter Frampton plays guitar on the album. Try and listen to her "Moonbathing" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 79.9 Mb]

TRACKS

A1 My Soul 3:25
A2 Broken Old Doll 3:50
A3 The Serf 3:54
A4 Hold On 3:30
A5 Everything Changes 3:43

B1 Love Melts Away 3:40
B2 Sam 2:55
B3 You 4:23
B4 Watch The Tears 4:20
B5 We'll Get By 4:43

All songs composed by Lesley Duncan except "Love Melts Away" and "Watch The Tears" by Lesley Duncan & Jimmy Horowitz

MUSICIANS

Lesley Duncan - Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals
Peter Frampton, Bob Cohen - Guitar
Andy Bown, Larry Steele - Bass
Jimmy Horowitz - Keyboards
Barry DeSouza - Drums
Liza Strike, Sue Glover - Vocals

BIO

One of England's top session vocalists, Lesley Duncan sang on recordings by Elton John, the Dave Clark Five, Pink Floyd, the Alan Parsons Project, Michael Chapman, and Joyce Everson and the soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar. Her songs have been covered by Elton John, Olivia Newton-John, and Long John Baldry. Although her debut 1963 single, "I Want a Steady," credited to Lesley Duncan & the Jokers, was a commercial failure, Duncan found success six years later when Elton John included her tune "Love Song" on his album Tumbleweed Connection. The song's popularity led to a recording contract with CBS/Columbia. Her debut eponymously titled album, produced by her husband and keyboard player, Jimmy Horowitz, included her song "Sing Children Sing," featuring John on piano. Duncan and John continued to collaborate on Duncan's 1976 album, Moonbathing, which included a live duet version of "Love Song." While her vocals and songwriting brought her respect from the British music press, Duncan was unable to break through as a soloist. Dropped by MCA in 1976 due to poor album sales, she continued to work with producer Tony Cox as a singles artist until 1986. Her last album vocal appearances came in 1979 with "If I Could Change Your Mind" on the Alan Parsons Project album Eve and in 1980 with "Hold on to Love" from the album Exiled by the Bob Mitchell/Steve Coe Mysteries. Duncan's early albums, Sing Children Sing and Earth Mother, were released on CD in the early 2000s. During her latter years Duncan continued to perform with Jimmy Horowitz on keyboards and Chris Spedding on guitar. She died from cerebrovascular disease at age 66 on March 12, 2010, on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. © Craig Harris © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lesley-duncan-p17178/biography

MORE

Born August 12, 1943; Died March 12, 2010. Lesley Duncan, who has died aged 66, was Britain’s first hit-making female singer-songwriter. She maintained she only bluffed her way into the business after knocking up a couple of songs in her head. She was waitressing in a Bayswater coffee bar and living in a bedsit when her brother, Jimmy, fresh out of Wormwood Scrubs, announced he was going to become a songwriter. Thinking anyone could do that, she composed two songs, without any instruments, and promptly sang them unaccompanied to the head of a music publisher she had arranged to meet. The pair of diminutive kids with thick Teeside accents were immediately offered a retainer and her future was sealed. The company was Francis Day and Hunter, now part of EMI, and her career, collaborating with rock and pop glitterati from David Bowie to Elton John, Pink Floyd and Dusty Springfield, was about to take off. Hundreds of artists, including Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Peggy Lee, Topol and Barry White, have since recorded her best known composition, Love Song. It’s not bad for a girl who thought she “wasn’t much of a singer” and had no great ambition. Duncan was born in Stockton-on-Tees to a Scottish father, Ranald Duncan, from Cluny, Aberdeenshire, who left her mother, Kathleen, while she was expecting their daughter. She and her late brother were raised by their mum, a bit of a good-time girl, according to Duncan, who was a fine pianist and played in clubs, often leaving the children at home at night. Despite the lack of parental support she made it to grammar school but left before her 15th birthday. She later made up for that by reading intensely. She waitressed in north of England hotels before moving to London, aged 16, and making the leap into the music business. She and her brother won their retainers in 1963: he got £10 a week, she was on £7. “On Friday I was a waitress, and on Monday I was in showbusiness,” she once said, adding: “It was all bluff really, I was just bluffing.” Within weeks Duncan was in the movie business, winning a part in the pop film What A Crazy World, with Joe Brown, Susan Maughan and Marty Wilde, and later a recording contract with Parlophone Records, the same label as The Beatles. Although she then did not have any huge success recording her own songs – nice but naive affairs – she was well known as a backing singer. She worked with Dusty Springfield, Madeline Bell and Kiki Dee, all singing on each other’s records. It was not until Elton John, with whom she worked together on sessions, recorded Love Song on his Tumbleweed Connection album that she got an album deal. Her songwriting had matured and she produced Sing Children Sing, on which Elton played, and appeared on Top of the Pops. She released her album Earth Mother in 1972, dedicating it to Friends of the Earth, of which she was an enthusiastic member. By that time she had married record producer Jimmy Horowitz and went on to have two sons with him, Sam and Joe. Although their profes­sional creative relationship went well, the marriage broke up and in 1976 she dropped out and went to live in Cornwall. It was there she got to know her second husband, Tony Cox, also a record producer and music arranger. They had previously met when she was doing session work. “I recall thinking she was a rather stroppy, difficult little woman,” he said. “She later said she thought I was a pretty weird guy – views which we never entirely let go of in 30 years.” They hit it off better in Cornwall in 1977 and married the following year. They later spent 11 years in Oxford, where Duncan worked at Oxfam’s HQ and helped to promote fundraising concerts with up and coming acts, including Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. In 1979, she released Sing Children Sing again as a fundraiser for Oxfam for Year of the Child. During her career she released a number of albums and also sang on the Alan Parson’s Project release Eve, the Jesus Christ Superstar album, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Elton John’s Madman Across the Water and with Ringo Starr, Donovan and the Dave Clark Five. Never comfortable with being on the road or performing, and taking her duties as a mother seriously, she was happiest in the recording studio. Duncan, who latterly suffered from cerebrovascular disease, never officially retired but her last record was released in 1986. The couple moved to Tobermory on Mull in 1996 where her illus­trious music career was unknown to many of the locals but where condolences arrived from Elton John and David Bowie. She died in the island’s hospital with her husband at her side, just as Love Song, playing in the background, came to a close. [Published on 25 Mar 2010 by & © www.heraldscotland.com]

Judie Tzuke

Judie Tzuke - Welcome To The Cruise - 1979 - Rocket Records

"Welcome to the Cruise" was Judie Tzuke's first studio album which was released on Elton John's Rocket label. It is also her most commercially successful album, and features her beautiful "Stay with Me till Dawn" hit which stayed in the UK charts for 16 weeks. The song is still played regularly on British radio, and most likely, worldwide. In June 2002,the song was voted in at No. 39 in a BBC Radio 2 poll to decide the top fifty British songs of the past fifty years. The song has appeared on dozens of compilation albums and regularly appears in all time most popular song lists. Like so many other artists, it seems that the lady is remembered for one big hit. WTTC contains plenty of other well structured, melodic songs, all composed by Judie with Mike Paxman. It is well worth checking Judie Tzuke's back catalogue. She is a beautiful vocalist, and a great musician. She has covered folk, jazz, blues, and rock, but unfortunately her career has had more "downs" than "ups". Try and listen to her "Road Noise: The Official Bootleg" album

TRACKS

1. Welcome To The Cruise
2. Sukarita
3. For You
4. These are the laws
5. Bring The Rain
6. Southern Smiles
7. Katiera Island
8. Ladies Night
9. New Friends Again
10. Stay With me Till Dawn

All songs composed by Judie Tzuke & Mike Paxman

MUSIC CREDITS

Lead Vocals - Judie Tzuke
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, String Arrangements, Bass Arrangement, Brass Arrangement, Woodwind Arrangement - Ray Russell
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Additional Backing Vocals - Mike Paxman
Bass, Electric Bass - Mo Foster
Bass, Acoustic Bass - Roy Babbington
Piano, Keyboards - Chris Parren
Keyboards, String Arrangements, Synthesizer - Paul Hart
Piano Notes - Steve Nye
Drums - Simon Phillips, Barry De Souza, Pete Van Hook
Percussion - John Punter
Marimba - Morris Pert
Tabla - Kesh Satche
Soprano Sax - Ray Warleigh
String Arrangements - Paul Buckmaster
Orchestra Leader - Gavin Wright, Richard Studt

BIO

Born Judie Myers in London on April 3, 1956, British pop/rock singer Judie Tzuke enjoyed some commercial success in her homeland for a spell during the 1980s, but was not able to translate it stateside. Judie's Polish immigrant parents had changed their last names from Tzuke to Myers shortly after relocating to England (it was a common last name in their new home of Yorkshire), but by the time Judie began establishing her singing career, she had decided to use original family surname. Both of Tzuke's parents were involved in music: her father, Sefton Myers, managed artists and singers (and supported both Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice as the duo penned Jesus Christ Superstar), while her mother, Jean Silverside, acted in several popular films and TV shows. By her teenage years, Judie began penning poems and setting them to a guitar accompaniment, showcasing her original compositions at local folk clubs. Soon after, Tzuke met a songwriting collaborator in Mike Paxman, and the duo (known as Tzuke & Paxo) caught the attention of renowned producer Tony Visconti, who signed them to his Good Earth record label. The duo only managed to issue an obscure, lone 1977 single, "These are the Laws" b/w "It's Only Fantasies," before Tzuke was signed as a solo artist to Elton John's Rocket label (Paxman would remain on board, however, as a singer/guitarist/songwriter for several years). Tzuke first issued a single for her new label, "For You," which was a moderate success on U.K. radio (scraping the Top 40), but around the time of the release of her full-length debut in 1979, Welcome to the Cruise, Tzuke scored a more substantial hit with "Stay with Me 'Till Dawn," which resulted in the song staying on the British charts for 16 weeks and several appearances on the popular Tops of the Pops TV program. Despite landing a prime touring spots opening for her pal Elton John (and playing to an estimated 450,000 people at New York's Central Park), John's label switched distribution in the U.S. around this time, which made it increasingly hard to find Tzuke's music in record stores. Despite it all, Tzuke's career continued to prosper in England, resulting in such further popular releases as 1980's Sportscar, 1981's I Am the Phoenix, and 1982's Shoot the Moon (in addition to appearances at British festivals and a pair of sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon). Tzuke hoped that signing with a new label (Chrysalis) would bring her recording career to the next level. This, unfortunately, proved not to be the case, as Tzuke appeared to be lost in the shuffle when she issued her next studio release, Ritmo, in 1983. Undeterred, Tzuke continued to issue further albums, including 1985's The Cat Is Out (recorded entirely at her home studio), 1989's Turning Stones, 1991's Left Hand Talking, and 1996's Wonderland (which featured a cameo by Queen guitarist Brian May). Tzuke formed her own record label, Big Moon Records, shortly thereafter, which issued Under the Angels and the in-concert Over the Moon in 1997; Secret Agent followed in 1998, as well as another live set, Six Days Before the Flood, in 2000. Around the same time, Elton John decided to return the copyrights of Tzuke's first three (and most popular) albums back to her, which resulted in all being remastered and reissued on Big Moon. Tzuke's next studio effort, Queen Secret Keeper, was released in 2001, with an all-covers album, The Beauty of Hindsight, following in 2003. The 2004 album After the End of the Beginning preceded her two-volume Songs series, with the first volume (2007) focusing on her softer material while the second (2008) favored rock. Two years later, her career-spanning Moon on a Mirrorball was supported by a tour of the U.K. © Greg Prato © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/judie-tzuke-p133442/biography

DETAILED BIO

Judie Myers was born in London on April 3rd, 1956 of an English Mother and a Polish extract Father. Her father's family had come to Britain from Poland in the 1920's and had originally settled in Yorkshire. They had changed their name from their original Polish name "Tzuke" to Myers because it was one of the more common names in Yorkshire at that time and they wanted to blend into the community where they had come to live. Her father Sefton Myers, was a successful Park Lane based property developer, who also managed artists and singers. He co-managed and was responsible for supporting Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice while they wrote Jesus Christ Superstar but unfortunately he died a few weeks before the musical opened. He had also been Chief Barker of The Variety Club of Great Britain and was a very popular impresario. Her mother Jean Silverside was an actress in films and popular TV series' such as The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, The Marty Feldman show, The Goodies and various other TV plays. After an education in the arts, music and drama, by the age of 15 Judie spent most of her time writing poems which she turned into songs and playing folk clubs, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. She went to Island Records to try and get a record deal and after she'd played two songs was asked if she had any more. She replied that she had twenty, which she didn't, and they asked her to come back and record them the following week. She didn't return, but their interest made her realise that she could have a career in music. In 1975 she met Mike Paxman and together they started to write the songs that were to become her first releases. After making some demo tapes, they managed to get a record deal with David Bowie producer Tony Visconti's label Good Earth. Judie, (hereafter spoken of as 'Jude') decided to change her name back to her original family's surname "Tzuke". A single was released: "These are The Laws" which was recorded and produced by Tony Visconti and came out under the name of "Tzuke and Paxo". Whilst at Good Earth, Jude and Mike met Bob Noble and Paul Muggleton who were also on the label with their band "Omaha Sheriff". In 1977 Jude went to see managing director David Croker at Elton John's label 'Rocket Records' as their motto was "a label for artists". She played them a few songs, one of which was "Stay With Me 'Till Dawn" and was immediately signed to the new label. Jude and Mike spent the next six months or so recording her first album 'Welcome To The Cruise' at Air Studios in London, with producer John Punter. The first single was released in the summer of 1978, entitled 'For You' and was greeted with great critical acclaim and substantial air-play but only reached the top 40. This was to all change with the release of the 'Welcome To The Cruise' album and the single 'Stay With Me 'Till Dawn'. The song stayed in the UK charts for 16 weeks, and she made three live appearances on Top of the Pops. The song became a firm favourite and is still played regularly on Radio in the U.K. It has appeared on dozens of compilation albums and regularly appears in lists of all time most popular songs. As part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's fifty year reign in June 2002, BBC Radio Two conducted a poll to determine the top fifty British songs of the past fifty years. "Stay With Me Till Dawn" was at No. 39. With the success of 'Welcome To The Cruise', Jude and Mike put together the first Judie Tzuke band. Joining them were their friends from 'Omaha Sherif': Paul Muggleton on guitar and backing vocals and Bob Noble on keyboards, along with bass player John Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich.Jude and her band then toured for the next 18 months and made her second album 'Sportscar' at Virgin's Manor studios, in Oxfordshire. In 1980, Jude and her band toured America for three months as support to Elton John. The tour was well received, but during the tour Elton John decided to change the US distribution for his Rocket label from MCA to the new Geffin label. MCA consequently decided to stop all tour support and promotion for the acts on the Rocket label, which meant that Jude was playing to huge audiences, including 450,000 people in New York's Central Park, but no-one knew who she was and her records were not available in the shops. She received rave reviews for the tour and Elton himself said that he had never had a support act that went down so well, but the experience of such a long tour without any record company support was a very frustrating one. One LA newspaper reported after four nights at the LA Forum: "Judie and her band played such a strong and confident set that the audience almost forget that they had come to see Elton John, her future success in the States is assured". After this, Jude came back to the U.K. and decided to make changes. She recorded her third album 'I Am The Phoenix' which, besides songs by Jude and Mike also included songs from Paul Muggleton and Bob Noble. Another lengthy UK tour culminated in appearances headlining the Glastonbury CND Festival and some summer festivals in Europe. She then made the decision to leave Rocket and to sign with Chrysalis Records. Jude was by this time selling out halls all over the UK and in parts of Europe. Her next album "Shoot The Moon" was recorded mainly at Rockfield studios in Wales and was released in 1982. During the spring tour two sell out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon (now The Carling Apollo) were recorded and later that year the acclaimed live album 'Roadnoise' was released. Jude, Mike and Paul wrote new songs and went to Mayfair studios in London to record her fifth album, augmenting her stage band with a number of other musicians. The following year saw the release of the 'Ritmo' album, again she toured extensively but realising that she was not a priority act for Chrysalis and that they were not going to release the album in the States, she left Chrysalis for pastures new. With the Chrysalis record deal behind her and wanting to have more control over her output and direction, Jude decided to release her next album with a new independent company called Legacy. The album 'The Cat is Out', released in 1985 was recorded mainly at her home studio, and for the first time Jude and her producers Paul and Mike were able to record and mix the album without record company interference. As the making of the album progressed, designs were drawn up for a purpose built studio (to be called 'Big Ocean Studios') which was to become the place where most of her records would be recorded in the future. Another very successful sell out tour of the UK followed, including the release of a live video (and later DVD) from the show at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon in September 1985. Having enjoyed the freedom of working with an independent label but finding that they did not have the resources to promote her music, Jude decided to have a break from live work and to look for a major record company once again. In June of 1987 Jude and her partner Paul Muggleton had their first daughter Bailey, and in that year the building of Big Ocean studios was completed and Jude, Mike, Paul and Bob Noble set about writing songs and customising the studio in preparation for the next albumIn 1987 Jude signed a deal with Polydor records and set about recording her seventh studio album 'Turning Stones', which featured guest appearances from violin supremo Nigel Kennedy and up-coming jazz sax star Andy Sheppard. With the release of 'Turning Stones' Jude and her band began preparations for a full UK tour, rehearsals were started at Shepperton studios and tickets were put on sale, but a dispute between her management and Polydor records resulted in all tour finance and support being withdrawn and the tour had to be cancelled only days before it was due to begin. Polydor insisted that Judie did not give any reasons for the cancellation as it would put promotion of her album at risk. The management at Polydor that had originally signed Jude had all moved on and the working situation with the record company became impossible, "Turning Stones" was deleted after selling out of the initial pressing. Disappointment at the collapse of the album and the cancellation of the planned tour was hard to take, but Jude went straight back into the studio and started work on new tracks. The following year she signed a new deal with Sony who had recently acquired the famous CBS and Columbia labels. In 1991 the album 'Left Hand Talking' was released on Columbia, which included an atmospheric version of the Beach Boys song 'God Only Knows' and a re-recording of her classic hit 'Stay With Me Till Dawn'. Jude put together a new band and played two nights at the Shaw Theatre and shows at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London. As the new management at Sony decided to work primarily with more singles orientated artists, Jude felt that it had become the wrong label for her. After all the problems with record companies she decided to try another independent label, and talks began with Essential Records, a new label being started by Castle Communications, who were already a very successful company that had built their reputation with CD re-releases. 'Wonderland' was recorded at Big Ocean Studios and had guest appearances from Brian May of Queen and Nigel Kennedy. On the release of the album, Timothy White of Billboard magazine did an editorial and interview with Jude as part of his series 'Music to My Ears'. The album was received with critical acclaim here and abroad and the single 'Wonderland' became a nationwide turntable hit. Jude realised that working with smaller labels gave her more control, but once again the record company was unable to sufficiently promote the album. Though not deleted this album was not available for most of 1996, and was re-released in 1997. In 1992 Jude toured with the songs from the 'Wonderland' album and for the first time played smaller halls with a more intimate atmosphere, being more suitable for the new jazzier and lighter approach to her music. In 1994 Jude and Paul's second daughter Tallula was born and Jude spent time working on new songs and developing her interest in photography. She took some publicity shots for her friend Virginia Astley and musically she worked on some of the projects Mike and Paul were doing at Big Ocean, singing on albums by Paul Norton in Australia, Nick Kamen (backing vocals on his hit 'I Promise Myself') vocals on an ambient production by Art of Noise member JJ Jeczalik and some backing vocals on tracks with Rush, Nick Green and Gary Moore. She decided that in order to be more in charge of her future and to make sure that she did not sign away the rights to anymore of her albums, the best way forward was to take the plunge and to fund her own career. Her own label 'Big Moon Records' was started and her first album on the label 'Under The Angels' was recorded between the autumn of 1995 and the summer of 1996. Produced as usual by Paul and Mike, the album featured the drumming of Andy Newmark and a series of new players with the intention of making a more performance orientated album, with a more 'natural' sound and without studio tricks or filtering. In February and June 1997, Jude toured with the songs from the new album and a fantastic new band. A live album of these tours titled "Over The Moon" was released later in that year. Judies next studio album "Secret Agent" was released in December 1998 and she toured again in the UK in January and February 1999. In December 1999, Elton John offered to return the copyrights to Judie for her first three albums (originally released on Elton's Rocket label), and re-mastered versions of "Welcome To the Cruise", "Sportscar", and "I Am The Phoenix" were re-released on Big Moon in February 2000. The "Phoenix 2000" UK tour took place in April/May 2000, and the "Other Half" tour in October 2000, during which Judie and her band previewed tracks from her next studio album "Queen Secret Keeper", which was released in late 2001. A Live album of the October 2000 tour titled "Six Days Before The Flood" was released around Christmas 2000, and features four previously unrecorded songs, plus a version of Colin Bluntstone's hit "I Don't Believe In Miracles". [This has been another Muggleton/Paxman production © Big Moon 2000 © 2010 Big Moon Records Ltd. All Rights Reserved © http://www.tzuke.com/history1.html

Lani Hall

Lani Hall - Hello It's Me - 1975 - A&M Records

A mellow album from Lani Hall – a singer who's best known to most as one of the lovely voices in Brasil '66, working here with Herb Alpert in a smooth LA pop 70s style. Lani's voice is a bit over the top on a few of these cuts, but there's a few more that redeem the album with a sweet little Free Soul style. Titles include "Happy Woman", "Exclusively For Me", "Wheelers & Dealers", "Save The Sunlight", and the jazzy Brazilian groover "Corrida De Jangada". (Cover has unglued seams and initials in marker on front.) © 1996-2011, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Nearly a forgotten singer, Lani Hall made some great albums in the seventies, covering songs by hugely popular songwriters, including Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Elton John. She sang with the huge Latin flavoured Bossa Nova pop band, Brasil '66, and married Herb Alpert in 1973. Many of her recordings during the eighties remain very popular in the Latin pop scene. "Hello It's Me" is not as strong as her "Sundown Lady" album, but there are good covers of songs written by artists like Todd Rundgren, Carole King, Toni Stern, Joni Mitchell, Colin Blunstone and David Jones. Colin Blunstone's "Exclusively For Me" is a great track. It's worthwhile listening to Dusty Springfield's version of this track on her "Longings" album. The cover of Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me" is another great track. Joni Mitchell's "Banquet" is also covered very well. Musicians on this album include Larry Carlton, Michel Colombier, Jim Gordon, Bob Findley, and not surprisingly, Herb Alpert. Try and listen to Herb Alpert and Lani Hall's "I Feel You" album, and check out her "Sundown Lady" album @ LANIHALL/SLY N.B: The post here is a 160 Kbps vinyl rip, so don't expect any audio miracles

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Hello It's Me - Todd Rundgren 3:35
2 Peace In The Valley - Carole King, Toni Stern 4:10
3 Time Will Tell - Richard Mattley Jr., David Shire 4:16
4 Banquet - Joni Mitchell 2:48
5 Wheelers And Dealers - Dave Frishberg 2:35
6 Happy Woman Happy Man - Peter Cetera 2:35
7 Exclusively For Me - Colin Blunstone, David Jones 3:40
8 Save The Sunlight - Buie, Cobb-Lee 3:14
9 Sweet Jams And Jellies - Lani Hall 3:31
10 Corrida De Jangada - Edu Lobo, J. Capinan 1:54

MUSICIANS

Lani Hall - (vocals on all, piano on 9)
Larry Carlton - (guitar on 1,2,4,7,& 10): John Pisano - (guitar on 3,5,6,8, & 10)
Wilton Felder - (bass on 1): Ernie McDaniels - (bass on 3): Jim Hughart - (bass on 2,4,& 7): Papito Hernandez - (bass on 5,6,8, & 10)
Michel Colombier - (keyboards on 7): Clarence McDonald - (keyboards on 1,2,6,& 9): Dave Frishberg - (keyboards on 3,5,8, & 10)
Mike Melvoin - (piano on 2 & 4): Mike Melvoin - (piano on 4 & 5)
Herb Alpert - (piano on 3, anvil on 4, voice on 2 & 4)
Mark Stevens - (drums on 1): Nick Ceroli - (drums on 3): Jim Gordon - (drums on 2 & 4): Steve Schaeffer - (drums on 5,6,8 & 10)
Vince Charles (percussion on 3,5,6,8, & 10)
Bob Edmondson - (trombone on 3 & 8)
Bob Findley - (trumpet on 3 & 8)
Pete Jolly - (accordion on 2)
Emil Richards - (cymbalom on 7)
Julius Wechter - (bells on 3, vibes on 5, marimba on 8)

BIO

The original voice of Sergio Mendes' Brasil '66, singer Lani Hall was also the wife of trumpeter and A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert. Upon exiting Brasil '66, she made her solo debut in 1974 with the LP Sundown Lady; a series of releases including 1975's Hello It's Me, 1977's Sweetbird and 1979's Double or Nothing followed, but after appearing on the soundtrack to the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again Hall largely disappeared from the recording scene, resurfacing only to make the occasional cameo appearance on her husband's recordings. However, the rise of Latin pop during the 1990s inspired Hall to return to the studio, and in 1998 she issued Brasil Nativo. Lani Hall first came to be known to the public at large when she joined the second Brasil project of Bossa Nova master Sergio Mendes, Brasil '66. Unlike the previous incarnation, Brasil '66 was an instant success - making a significant impact on the charts with its first single, a version of the Brazilian song "Mas Que Nada". Much of the song's appeal was due to the distinctive, multi-tracked vocals of Hall. Although born in Chicago, Lani had the look of a beautiful Latin woman, which contributed to the attractive appearance of the band. A series of popular interpretations followed, including their take on The Beatles' "Fool on the Hill". Though many associate her with Brasil '66's hit rendition of Burt Bacharach's "The Look of Love" on the album Look Around (which reached #4 on the pop charts in 1968), the lead on that single was actually handled by Mendes' other singer of that period, Janis Hansen.The band frequently toured alongside A&M labelmates (and label founder) Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, no doubt providing plenty of opportunity for Hall and Alpert to get acquainted. She would leave Brasil '66 in 1971, but marry Alpert in 1973. With her husband assuming production and arranging duties, Hall subsequently embarked on a solo career, beginning with 1972's Sun Down Lady and following up with Hello It's Me in 1975. A new album would appear nearly every year until 1985's Es Facil Amar, for which Hall would be awarded a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance. Her albums maintained their popularity, primarily in the Latin market, but some mainstream presence was kept, particularly with her contribution of the title song to the James Bond film Never Say Never Again in 1983. After raising a family with Alpert and writing fiction, she returned in 1998 with the album Brasil Nativo on the Windham Hill label. © Jason Ankeny, All Music Group

Frank Weber

Frank Weber - ...As The Time Flies - 1978 - RCA Victor

Frank Weber was a New York-based singer/songwriter/pianist who recorded two wonderful Adult Contemporary albums: "As The Time Flies" (1978) and "Frank Weber" (1980) before disappearing from the music scene. In both his works he successfully uses a dominating jazz/pop oriented pianistic approach, mixing pop melodies, jazzy harmonies and rhythms, all in a typical late seventies East Coast pop/rock vein. Frank Weber manages to make his music speak through a philosophical and intellectual lyrical touch, whether he delivers songs that should be considered Adult Contemporary standards ("'71", "As The Time Flies"), successfully revisiting jazz and pop standards ("Straighten Up And Fly Right", "Take It To The Limit"), or offering the listener both bright and catchy tunes ("Complicated Times" and "Between New York and L.A.") and touching love songs ("Regina", "Only For Tonight"). My personal tribute to Mr. Weber consists in playing his songs to the different audiences I meet (I am a pianist myself). The goal of this group would be reaching Mr. Weber himself, or simply let him know that around the world there are many people who still love listening to his music and would like to know more about him (very few things can be found on the Net). Whoever wants to share news and facts - as well as pictures, audio and video clips - about Mr. Weber's career or simply comment his AOR jems is welcome. Written by Alessandro Trentadue Privacy Type Open: All content is public. [from facebook.com]

New York based Frank Weber was obviously a very talented Adult Contemporary musician. Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared from the music arena. His musical style encompassed elements of a jazzy Billy Joel, Marc Jordan, and Michael Franks. This music is normally classified as AOR West Coast soft rock. Many albums in this genre in the late seventies were very average, sugary, overly commercial productions and were churned out by the truckload. ATTF is a notable exception. Well written songs with good piano-oriented melodies, great musicianship, jazz-flavoured vocals and intelligent and thoughtful lyrics. Frank Weber is backed by artists including Mike Mainieri, Steve Gadd, Lou Marini, David Spinozza, John Tropea, and Luther Vandross. Frank stylishly covers the little heard 1944 song,"Straight Up And Fly Right" by Nat King Cole and Irving Mills. Frank released another album "Frank Weber" in 1981 also produced by Ed Newman. ATTF is an album that slipped through the net, and well worth hearing. Read a small story about the song, "Parents" @ http://badsneaker.wordpress.com/2006/04/23/as-the-time-flies/ Any information on this artist would be greatly appreciated

TRACKS

A1 '71 4:10
A2 Regina 4:47
A3 So Many Sides 6:04
A4 As The Time Flies 4:05

B1 Complicated Times 6:30
B2 I Know, You Know 4:10
B3 Straighten Up And Fly Right 3:08
B4 Parents 2:56
B5 Shining In You 4:43

All songs composed by Frank Weber except "Straighten Up And Fly Right" by Irving Mills, Nat King Cole

MUSICIANS

Vocals - Frank Weber, Piano
Guitar - David Spinozza, John Tropea
Bass - Anthony Jackson, Willy Lee
Keyboards - Richard Tee
Vibraphone, Percussion - Mike Mainieri
Drums - Steve Gadd
Percussion - Armen Halburian
Congas - Freddy Diaz
Saxophone [Solos] - Lou Marini
Horns - Burt Collins , George Flynn, George Young, Jimmy Knepper, Leonard Hambro, Richard Perry, Ron Janelli, Wayne Andre
Strings - Barry Finclair, Charles McCracken, Diana Halprin, Herbert Sorkin, Jonathan Abramowitz, Louis Eley, Richard Locker, Richard Sortomme, Robert Rosek, Tony Posk
Concertmaster [Strings] - David Nadien
Backing Vocals - Arnold McCuller, David Lasley, Luther Vandross, Ula Hedwig

Clifford T. Ward

Clifford T. Ward - Home Thoughts - 1973 - Charisma

Right in the middle of glam rock 1973 came a homely singer/songwriter from the town of Stourport-on-Severn, north Worcestershire, England, named Clifford T. Ward who took the charts by storm with a simple love song, "Gaye," telling the age-old story of a girl and how much she meant to him. This was like a breath of fresh air in the overproduced mid-'70s by its very nature. For here was a man who told simple stories, with beautiful melodies, played with the minimum of fuss. Hot on the heels of the single "Gaye" came his second album, Home Thoughts, which Ward was heavily involved with writing and producing, as well as playing keyboards. Home Thoughts opened with the lovely ballad "Gaye" and continued in the same vein as the single with piano backed ballads sung with clear, concise lyrics, reflecting Ward's homespun family thoughts, living as an ordinary man with a wife and three children, spurning the attention from the media, refusing to tour or play any live gigs that would take him away from his family, and also shying away from the pop press, interviews, and photographs, except when absolutely necessary. Clifford T. Ward had been working as an English teacher at a local school and it was here he developed his love of poetry and words, an asset he brought to his songs, especially "Where Would That Leave Me" and "Time the Magician," "Home Thoughts from Abroad," and "The Open University" in which he namechecks his favorite authors, and "Wherewithal," a song he wrote simply because he liked the sound of the word. But for all the beautiful songs on Home Thoughts, the standout track is the hit single "Gaye" with its instantly memorable singalong melody. © Sharon Mawer © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/home-thoughts-from-abroad-r52312/review

A masterpiece. So strong are the melodies, so succinct and sympathetic are Richard Hewson's arrangements, that lyrics like, "Would you like to have a drink or two with big fat Joan/She knows what it's all about at twenty stone" and, "Does the cistern still leak?/Will it last another week?" do not grate in the slightest. The Traveller is sublime, Wherewithal comes over as smart rather than smug and the inspired simplicity of Time, The Magician still astounds twenty two years on. Thirteen outstanding songs. Unlucky for those who have never heard any of them. Essential. (1973). Star Rating: * * * * * (out of 5) © Waves - Fanzine (© Clive Winstanley)

Cliff made several great albums, including "Escalator", "No More Rock and Roll", "Waves", and "New England Days" but his romantic style of songwriting was never compatible with the "glam rock", punk or New Wave eras and his songs were dismissed by some as unfashionable. He wasn't the first and he certainly won't be the last songwriter to be categorized like this, however his songs will be around forever. Other great "unfashionable" songwriters include Janis Ian, Al Stewart, and Roy Harper. The great author/singer/songwriter/poet Richard Digance said, 'Home Thoughts From Abroad' is still the greatest 'British' song that I have ever heard. Cliff had no pretentious Americanisms, and it's still the only popular song with the word Worcestershire in it." Melody Maker stated that 'This album is so beautiful it makes you want to forget the idiot antics of the rock 'n' roll world. Some of Ward's songs are the finest since McCartney penned "Yesterday" - "Gaye" and the title track for instance. He is a tender poet writing real love songs and in this jungle of music he offers a clearing where you can lay down, rest your head, and dream sweet dreams.' A beautiful diamond of an album and VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to his "Singer Songwriter" and "Gaye & Other Stories" albums

TRACKS

SIDE 1

1 Gaye
2 Wherewithal
3 The Dubious Circus Company
4 Nightingale
5 Where Would That Leave Me?
6 The Traveller

SIDE 2

1 Home Thoughts From Abroad
2 Where's It Going To End?
3 Time, The Magician
4 Give Me One More Chance
5 Cold Wind Blowing
6 The Open University
7 Crisis

MUSICIANS

Clifford T. Ward - Vocals, Keyboards
Derek Thomas - Guitars
Terry Edwards - Bass
Ken Wright - Drums, Percussion
Orchestral Arrangements - Richard Hewson



BIO (WIKI)

Clifford Thomas Ward (10 February 1944, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire — 18 December 2001) was a popular English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist. Ward was one of five children, having one sister and three brothers. He was educated at Stourport Secondary Modern School, and there he met his wife, Pat, when she was 13 years old, and he 14. At school he spent some time as a choir boy. Ward and Pat married when he was 17 and she 16, after Pat became pregnant with the first of their four children: Debbie, Martin, Sam and Polly. In 1962, shortly after leaving school, Ward formed a beat band 'Cliff Ward and The Cruisers'. The band was popular in Birmingham and also in demand at American Army bases in France. It was during this time abroad that Ward wrote "Home Thoughts From Abroad" (a song that would later appear on his second solo album and also as the B-side of "Gaye"). In the mid 1960s and after several member changes, the group was re-named 'Martin Raynor and The Secrets' with Ward in the role of the elusive Raynor. The fictitious name was soon dropped and the band continued on as 'The Secrets', and went on to tour around Britain and France, achieving moderate success. Along the way, six singles were recorded by the group (ten of the songs penned by Ward himself), though these made little impact. In 1968, following the demise of The Secrets, Ward decided he needed to get a 'real job', and so spent the following three years at a teacher training college, ultimately finding employment at nearby North Bromsgrove High School, teaching English and drama. One of his pupils was the future wife of Sting, Trudie Styler. The children heard singing on Ward's early albums were from North Bromsgrove High School. In his spare time, he continued songwriting and recorded his first solo album Singer Songwriter. His first album, Singer Songwriter, was released in 1972 on Dandelion Records (a label formed by the late disc jockey John Peel) just before it went into liquidation. As a result, the album received little media coverage and went largely unnoticed. Signing a new recording contract with Charisma Records, Ward went on to have a hit with the single "Gaye". It sold over a million copies worldwide and reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1973. In July 1973, following the success of "Gaye", Ward's second album Home Thoughts achieved healthy sales and reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart. At this point, wanting to concentrate on music full time, he gave up the teaching profession. He made a rare public appearance in August, performing "Gaye" on Top of the Pops. In January 1974 Ward entered the singles chart again at number 37 with "Scullery", a track from his third album Mantle Pieces. Subsequent singles, notably "No More Rock'n'Roll", "Jigsaw Girl", "Ocean of Love" and "I Got Lost Tonight" (written by the U.S. singer-songwriter Tim Moore, one of the very rare occasions when he recorded outside material) were loved by BBC Radio presenters and programmers but Ward never made it into the UK charts again. It was said that he would have had more commercial success were it not for his dislike of touring, public appearances, interviews and photo shoots. "The Best Is Yet To Come", from the album Both of Us, enjoyed success when covered by Justin Hayward, and his songs were also recorded by Cliff Richard, Jack Jones, Art Garfunkel, and Judy Collins. He was compared to Paul McCartney by reviewers and his songs have strong melodies and concise, original lyrics. In 1984 Ward was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. He continued to record and write songs while living at home, cared for by his wife Pat. In 1994, Ward was interviewed by local paper, the Wolverhampton Express & Star. He told reporter Aidan Goldstraw: "I have not and will not come to terms with this illness. There are times - usually quite late at night - when I'm almost normal again. But unless they find a cure for this dreadful MS, then I don't see a future." Also then, he recorded his eleventh and what would be his last new album, Julia And Other New Stories, crawling on all fours into his home-based recording studio to finish it. At around the same time, a stage musical, Shattered World, was produced as a tribute to him, based on his life and his battle against MS. Half of the songs were Ward's own and half were numbers written by others about him. In the winter of 2001, he fell ill from pneumonia and entered a hospital. He died there a few weeks later, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday December 18.

Andy Fairweather Low

Andy Fairweather Low - Be Bop 'n' Holla - 1976 - A&M

"Andy Fairweather Low remains one of the UK's most eclectic and charismatic musicians. From heartthrob superstar with Amen Corner in the 60s, solo star in the 70s and revered session and sideman since, Andy will always be involved with great music". © 2006 Proper Records

Andy's up to his old tricks. With the help of some lilting Caribbean-style percussion, as infectious as Victoria II, he abandons the attack that's always put a hard edge on his cheerful rock and roll. The result is a tuneful, sexy album, and oh so frivolous--"Lighten Up" sounds like a theme song. But frivolity turns desperate when you listen hard: in the theme song, for instance, Andy identifies himself as a stranger, a slave, and a prisoner to his lonely grave. Such a joker, this boy--makes it sound like Rocky Raccoon had it coming to him. A © Robert Christgau http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Andy+Fairweather+Low

Andy Fairweather Low has never been an instantly recognizable name in rock music, but he's a true rock star. He's the kind of guy who has managed to keep a low profile throughout his career. You may have heard some of his great songs, most of which he penned himself, including - Wide Eyed And Legless, Reggae Tune, (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice, and Natural Sinner. From his early days in Amen Corner, and Fair Weather, Andy has been one of Britain's great musicians and songwriters. "Be Bop 'n' Holla" is not one of Andy's most successful albums. It has never been taken seriously by music critics. The music is on the lightweight and humorous side. However Andy's songs often contain sardonic and/or pessimistic lyrics combined with cheerful music, and many critics just dont get him. Andy has had many "downs" in his musical career due to bad management by record companies. In his early career with groups like Amen Corner, Andy had major hits and topped charts and still found himself in debt with a certain record company. "Be Bop 'n' Holla" despite containing nine catchy songs penned by Andy was a commercial flop. The album produced no hit singles and left him disappointed and in a "commercial limbo" as in 1976 he was in considerable financial debt to A&M. "Be Bop 'n' Holla" deserved more credit than it received. Thankfully, those who know great music when they hear it have always appreciated Andy's unique adenoidal and reedy voice and brilliant guitar technique. He has built up a huge reputation as a session guitarist, and as a sideman. He has played with Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Bill Wyman, The Who, Roger Waters, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and others too numerous to mention. You can check out Andy's "Mega-Shebang" album @ ANDYFL/MEGSHEB and his "Best of Andy Fairweather Low: Low Rider" album is @ ANDYFL/LR/BOF Buy his great "Spider Jiving" album.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Shimmie-Doo-Wah-Sae - Fairweather-Low
2. Ain't No Fun Anymore - Fairweather-Low
3. Da Doo Rendezvous - Fairweather-Low
4. Hot Poop - Fairweather-Low
5. Travellin' Light - Roy C. Bennett, Tepper
6. Rocky Racoon - Lennon, McCartney
7. Lighten Up - Fairweather-Low
8. I Can't Take Much More - Fairweather-Low
9. Rhythm 'N' Jazz - Fairweather-Low
10. Checking Out The Checker - Fairweather-Low
11. Be Bop 'N' Holla - Fairweather-Low

MUSICIANS

Andy Fairweather Low (Guitar), (Vocals)
Bryn Haworth, Bernie Leadon (Guitar)
B.J. Cole (Steel Guitar)
John David (Bass), (Vocals)
John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Mick Weaver (Keyboards)
Henry Spinetti, Kenney Jones (Drums)
Tunji Omosheti, Glyn Johns, Julian Diggle (Percussion)
Bud Beadle (Saxophone)
Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton, Martin Drover (Trumpet)
Malcolm Griffiths (Trombone)
Steve Gregory (Horn)

SHORT BIO

The seven million people who bought Eric Clapton's Unplugged album and the countless more who saw the MTV Unplugged TV show experienced the work of Andy Fairweather Low, who served as Clapton's backup guitarist/vocalist. But probably few in that giant audience knew that Fairweather Low had once been a teen idol and had an extensive recorded catalog in groups and as a solo star. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Fairweather Low formed Amen Corner in the mid-'60s, for which he served as lead singer. The group scored six U.K. hits from 1967 to 1969, the biggest of which was the number one "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice." Its success put Fairweather Low's attractive face on the bedroom walls of teenage girls all over Britain. Amen Corner broke up at the end of the '60s and evolved into the more progressive Fair Weather, which scored a hit with "Natural Sinner" in 1970, but broke up in 1971. Fairweather Low retired for several years, but returned as a solo artist in 1974 and made a series of albums through 1980, reaching the U.K. Top Ten with the singles "Reggae Tune" and "Wide Eyed and Legless." Gradually, however, he began to work as a sideman to more prominent British musicians, notably ex-Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters, and with the ARMS benefit group in 1987. He toured Japan with George Harrison and Eric Clapton in 1991 and has since been part of Clapton's backup band. Fairweather Low began touring with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and, in 2006, hit the road again with Waters for the Dark Side of the Moon Tour. © William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com

BIO

Andy Fairweather Low is in a class of his own. One of the UK’s best guitar players with a truly unique voice (not to mention one of their best tennis players) he’s worked with some of the greatest artists around and still found time to release some solo material. ‘Sweet Soulful Music’ (2006) was his first solo album in 26 years but it was no simple comeback story - the intervening years were packed with people and projects virtually amounting to a stellar A to Z of Popular Music. Not surprising then that “The Very Best Of Andy Fairweather Low – The Low Rider” out on Proper Records in Spring 2008 should be such a catalogue of delight. It trawls right through his back catalogue from the hits of the late sixties right through to the present day resulting in a panoply of glorious sounds. Andy has a magnificent CV. Throughout his momentous career, he has played with such artists as Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, David Crosby, The Band, Richard and Linda Thompson, Dave Gilmour, The Who, BB King, Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Lane, Linda Ronstadt, Roddy Frame, Emmylou Harris, Joe Satriani, the Bee Gees, Jeff Beck, The Impressions, Lonnie Donegan, Ringo Starr, Steve Gadd, David Sanborn, Benmont Tench, Warren Zevon, Charlie Watts, Mary J. Blige, Dave Edmunds, Georgie Fame, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Rush, Phil Collins, Van Morrison, Gerry Rafferty, Chris Rea, Buddy Guy, Chris Barber, Jackson Browne, Bill Wyman, Sheryl Crow, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, Pete Townshend and hundreds more. Quite simply, Andy Fairweather Low has been – and continues to be - the guitarist and vocalist of choice for a phenomenal cast list of musical luminaries. Cardiff-born Fairweather Low originally came to fame as vocalist and leader of the pop group Amen Corner. The band had four Top 30 hits – a sequence starting with ‘Gin House Blues’ in 1967 - on Decca’s subsidiary Deram label before leaving at the end of 1968 to join Andrew Loog Oldham’s pioneering indie, Immediate. Amen Corner were instantly rewarded with a UK number one, ‘(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice’ in early 1969 but, despite another Top Five hit with Roy Wood’s ‘Hello Suzie’, it seemed the band could not survive success. By the following year Amen Corner had split, with Andy Fairweather Low escaping the teenybop grind by forming the simply named Fairweather, a band signed to RCA’s shiny new progressive label, Neon. Fairweather reached number six in the UK singles chart with ‘Natural Sinner’ during the summer of 1970. It was to be, however, the band’s only hit. One album later and Fairweather came to an end. Andy Fairweather Low then became somewhat of a refugee from the music business, eventually emerging three years later as a solo artist with an album called ‘Spider Jiving’ on A&M. The album was produced by Elliot Mazer – best known for his work with Neil Young – and featured some heavyweight backup support from the likes of the Memphis Horns and Nashville legend Charlie McCoy on harmonica. ‘Spider Jiving’ included the wah-wah driven ‘Reggae Tune’, a UK Top 10 hit in September 1974. Andy Fairweather Low was on something of a roll. The following year, 1975, he released his second solo album, ‘La Booga Rooga’, which eventually emerged as his most successful record. Produced by the celebrated Glyn Johns – at that time fresh from working with The Eagles – ‘La Booga Rooga’ featured such stellar musicians as ex-Eagle Bernie Leadon (guitar), Dave Mattacks (drums), Eddie ‘Tan Tan’ Thornton (trumpet), Kenney Jones (drums), John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (keyboards), BJ Cole (steel guitar) and Georgie Fame (keyboards). Among the tracks was ‘Wide Eyed and Legless’, a Top 10 hit for Fairweather Low at the end of 1975. Johns was also at the helm for ‘Be Bop ‘n’ Holla’, Fairweather Low’s 1976 album. It was followed, in 1980, by ‘Mega-Shebang’, recorded for Warner Brothers and destined to be Fairweather Low’s final solo album until 2006. In between ‘Be Bop ‘n’ Holla’ and ‘Mega-Shebang’, however, Fairweather Low sang backing vocals on The Who’s 1978 ‘Who Are You’ album - the start of a relationship which also saw him playing guitar on the band’s 1982 album, ‘It’s Hard’, and appearing with Pete Townshend on his 1993 ‘Psychoderelict’ tour. That work with The Who set the direction for Fairweather Low’s next moves. He became the ultimate Guitarist to the Stars, building an extraordinary reputation that has endured to this day. Most notably, Fairweather Low has been a stalwart of Eric Clapton’s band since the early-Nineties, touring in Clapton’s bands right up until 2003 and recording the ‘Unplugged’, ‘From the Cradle’, ‘Pilgrim’, ‘Riding with the King’, ‘Reptile’, ‘One More Car One More Rider’, ‘Me & Mr. Johnson’ and ‘Back Home’ albums with him. Fairweather Low was also a regular player with George Harrison, appearing on his ‘Live in Japan’ album and, in 2002, playing several of the lead guitar parts for the Harrison tribute, ‘The Concert for George’. One of Fairweather Low’s longest musical relationships, however, has been with Roger Waters. The two have worked together since Waters’ ‘Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking’ tour of America in 1985. Since that time Fairweather Low has contributed to two of Waters’ albums – ‘Radio K.A.O.S’ in 1987 and ‘Amused to Death’ in 1992 – and played guitar and bass on the 1999-2002 ‘In the Flesh’ world tour. Fairweather Low rejoined Waters for the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ tour this year. Fairweather Low is also a regular member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, the consequence of another relationship that stretches back to the mid-Eighties. Fairweather Low and Wyman first worked together at the Small Faces’ legendary bass player Ronnie Lane’s A.R.M.S. – Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis – benefit concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1983. It was a charity cause that Wyman revisited in 1985 with Willie & The Poor Boys, a Fifties’ style rock ‘n’ roll concept band featuring Fairweather Low. Since that time Fairweather Low has been frequently involved in Wyman’s projects, most recently touring with the Rhythm Kings in 2005 and the summer of 2006. But perhaps it was inevitable that one day Fairweather Low would be tempted to return to the studio in his own right. ‘Sweet Soulful Music’ reunited Fairweather Low with producer Glyn Johns and October ‘07 saw Andy touring solo again in the UK with his own all star band containing Chris Stainton – keyboards, Dave Bronze – bass and Paul Beavis – drums. One of the shows was filmed and the resulting DVD is released in June 2008 closely following the TV advertised release of his new album “The Very Best Of Andy Fairweather Low – The Low Rider”. “The Very Best Of Andy Fairweather Low – The Low Rider” hits the shops on June 2nd and combines all the hits and more. An absolute gem, the title says it all. To coincide with its release Andy and his band, The Low Riders (featuring Dave Bronze ,Paul Beavis and keyboard player Richard Dunn), head out on a major UK tour which also encompasses Cambridge rock, Colne blues, Trowbridge and Glastonbury Festivals. © http://www.judytotton.com/printable/current_promotions/biography_andy_fairweather_low.htm

MORE ABOUT ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW

Andy was born in 1948 in Cardiff, S.Wales and rose to prominence in the 1960’s as the front man and guitarist for chart topping teen idol band Amen Corner. His vocals and his distinctive voice were the perfect lead for the group. Amen Corner scored 6 memorable hits between 1967 and 1969 with ( If Paradise is ) Half As Nice reaching number 1 in January 1969 and their shows were always full of excitement and they were regular fixtures on package tours at the time. When the group split in 1969 Andy formed the band Fairweather which was signed to RCA on their progressive label Neon and for an underground progressive band it was somewhat surprising that they soon had a Top 10 single in 1970 with Natural Sinner. Andy’s first solo success was another Top 10 hit with Reggae Tune in September 1974 when after two albums with Fairweather and a brief spell off for good behaviour Andy had signed a Solo deal with A&M Records and recorded Spider Jiving which was produced by Neil Young producer Elliott Mazer and included major players such as The Memphis Horns & Nashville legend Charlie McCoy. Following up was not a problem and in 1975 he released his second album La Booga Rooga Produced by celebrated UK Producer Glyn Johns at that time fresh from working with The Eagles. Glyn Johns was again the producer of choice in 1976 for Andy’s third solo album ‘Be Bop ‘n’ Holla’. La Booga Rooga featured a great line up of musicians with such great players as Ex Eagle Bernie Leadon – Guitar, Dave Mattacks – Drums, Eddie Tan Tan Thornton – Trumpet, Kenney Jones – Drums, John ‘ Rabbit’ Bundrick – Keyboards, B.J.Cole – Steel Guitar and Georgie Fame – Keyboards and among the tracks was ‘Wide Eyed & Legless’ released late in 1975 and becoming another Solo Top 10 hit in the UK and major International hit record. In 1980 having moved labels to Warner Brothers Andy released his fourth Solo album Mega Shebang but had already started his notable contributions to other people’s records with his appearance in 1978 on The Who’s album ‘Who Are You’ which also continued through with his appearance on guitar on their Its Hard album in 1982 and contributions to Pete Townshend’s Psychderelict tour in 1993. From the work with The Who Andy moved on as the in demand player and ultimate Guitarist to the stars, building an extraordinary reputation that has endured to this day. In 1983, ex Small faces and Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, himself suffering from multiple sclerosis, set about organising some of the most significant musicians in the Rock world to tour on both sides of the Atlantic and record with the aim of raising awareness and funds for sufferers of MS. The project, A.R.M.S. – Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis, was immensely successful ending up with a visit to the Whitehouse for some of the participants. Andy, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Wood and Steve Winwood all appeared... In the early nineties Andy joined Eric Clapton’s band with which he stayed until 2003 touring and recording the ‘Unplugged’, ‘From the Cradle’, ‘Pilgrim’, ‘Riding with the King’, ‘Reptile’, ‘One More Car One More Rider’, ‘Me & Mr. Johnson’ and ‘Back Home’ albums with him. Andy was also a regular player with George Harrison, appearing on his ‘Live in Japan’ album and, in 2002, playing several of the lead guitar parts for the Harrison tribute, ‘The Concert for George’. One of Fairweather Low’s longest musical relationships, however, has been as musical director with Roger Waters. The two have worked together since Waters’ ‘Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking’ tour of America in 1985. Since that time Andy has contributed to two of Waters’ albums – ‘Radio K.A.O.S’ in 1987 and ‘Amused to Death’ in 1992 – and played guitar and bass on the 1999-2002 ‘In the Flesh’ world tour. He also rejoined Waters for the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ tour more recently. On November 29th, 2002, one of the most important concerts ever was staged at the Royal Albert Hall. The Concert for George was a tribute to George Harrison, under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. Featuring Joe Brown, Eric Clapton, Jules Holland and Sam Brown, Dhani Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar and Ringo Starr. Andy was a member of the Incredible House Band, which, among other great players, also included Dave Bronze, Gary Brooker, Jim Capaldi, Ray Cooper, Jim Keltner, Albert Lee and Chris Stainton. Andy is also a regular member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, the consequence of another relationship that stretches back to the mid-Eighties. Fairweather Low and Wyman first worked together at the Small Faces’ legendary bass player Ronnie Lane’s A.R.M.S. – Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis – benefit concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1983. It was a charity cause that Bill revisited in 1985 with Willie & The Poor Boys, a Fifties’ style rock ‘n’ roll concept band featuring Andy who, since that time has been frequently involved in Wyman’s projects, most recently touring with the Rhythm Kings in 2005 and the summer of 2006 and 2007. But perhaps it was inevitable that one day Fairweather Low would be tempted to return to the studio in his own right. That time came in 2006. ‘Sweet Soulful Music’ reunited Fairweather Low with producer Glyn Johns - and features bassist David Bronze (Eric Clapton, Robin Trower, Procol Harum), drummer Henry Spinetti (Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey) and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick (Bob Marley, The Who, Pete Townshend) together with Roger Waters’ back-up singers Katie Kissoon, Carol Kenyon and PP Arnold. Twenty-six years is a long wait but ‘Sweet Soulful Music’ signaled a welcome return for one of the UK’s most distinctive artists, as heartily endorsed by many of the world’s greatest talents. The current band is also a who’s who of the best players on the rock scene, joining Andy on Drums is Paul Beavis (Thea Gilmore, Robbie Macintosh & Sunday All Over The World) on Keyboards is Chris Stainton (The Grease Band, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton & The Concert For George) and on Bass is long standing associate Dave Bronze (Clapton, Concert For George, Dear Mr Fantasy tribute to Jim Capaldi). © 2006 Proper Records

Laura Nyro & Labelle

Laura Nyro & Labelle - Gonna Take a Miracle - 1971 - Columbia

Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth music album by New York-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. Nyro was backed up on the album by the vocal trio Labelle. Gonna Take a Miracle was released on the Columbia Records label in November 1971, a year after its predecessor, Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly '50s and '60s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group. Nyro had originally hatched the idea to do a covers album during 1970, and on her tour to support the Christmas and the Beads of Sweat album she introduced several of the songs that would later appear on Gonna Take a Miracle, including "Spanish Harlem" and "Dancing in the Street." Gonna Take a Miracle remains a critics' favourite Laura Nyro record for its laidback atmosphere and impressive soul grooves and musicianship, as well as classic "Philadelphia soul" production from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was Nyro's last commercially successful album, peaking at #46 on the Billboard 200, then known as the Pop Albums chart, as well as an impressive #41 on the Black Albums chart. It was Nyro's last album for more than four years as she turned her back on the music industry to get married and live a rural life away from the spotlight. Nyro's work with Patti LaBelle on the album formed a lifelong friendship. In 2005, Word magazine voted Gonna Take a Miracle among the 60 Best Underrated Albums of all time. [ from Wikipedia ].

Listen to Labelle's great "Nightbirds" album, and Laura Nyro's brilliant "Angel in the Dark" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

"I Met Him on a Sunday"- (Doris Coley, Addie Harris, Beverly Lee, Shirley Owens) 1:55
"The Bells"- (Marvin Gaye, Anna Gordy Gaye, Iris Gordy, Elgie Stover) 2:56
"Monkey Time/Dancing in the Street"- (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Ivy Jo Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson) 4:59
"Désiree"- (L.Z. Cooper, Danny Johnson) 1:52
"You've Really Got a Hold on Me"- (Smokey Robinson) 4:09
"Spanish Harlem"- (Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector) 2:52
"Jimmy Mack"- (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) 2:57
"The Wind"- (Bob Edwards, Juan Gutiérrez, Quentin Eubanks, Willie Hunter, Nolan Strong) 2:59
"Nowhere to Run"- (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) 5:09
"It's Gonna Take a Miracle"- (Teddy Randazzo, Bob Weinstein, Lou Stallman) 3:25

MUSICIANS

Laura Nyro - Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
Patti Labelle, Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash- Vocals
Norman Harris, Roland Chambers - Guitar
Ron Baker - Bass
Lenny Pakula - Organ, Horn
Jim Helmer - Drums
Roger Hawkins, Vince Montana - Percussion
Larry Washington, Nydia Mata - Percussion, Bongos, Conga
Robert A. Martin, Thom Bell - Strings, Horn
Sam Reed - Horn
Don Renaldo - Strings

REVIEWS

When we were first confronted with "soul" in the musical sense, we quickly attempted to slap a label on it, and when that label proved too small to accommodate both James Brown and Marvin Gaye, the risk avoiders that ran radio decided that once again, "white" and "black" music would have to go their separate ways. Things haven't changed much, either, since it's a safe bet that your local "classic rock" station doesn't play a note of Laura Nyro — unless it's sung by Three Dog Night or David Clayton-Thomas. Indeed, practitioners of musical apartheid would be utterly flummoxed by Nyro. She wrote intense songs with unexpected rhythms, as did your favorite "progressive" act, but she sang them as soulfully as any preacher's kid from the streets of Detroit, something not quite expected from a nice Jewish girl from the Bronx. Verve, which signed her for an album in 1966, couldn't come up with any better description than More Than a New Discovery. Eventually, she settled at Columbia, where she recorded three albums of original material in three years, and while they sold fairly well, cover versions of her songs sold even better — just pick up any Fifth Dimension anthology. Perhaps as a response, the New York Tendaberry took a side trip to Philadelphia in 1971, and Gonna Take a Miracle was born. With practiced R&B veterans Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff at the helm, and the newly-foreshortened Labelle not very far in the background, Laura Nyro let her voice and her soul run free through eleven classic songs, from doo-wop to Motown. The voices weren't always in perfect harmony, and the arrangements weren't always ideal, but none of that mattered; what came out of those sessions was the textbook definition of soul — gospel on an earthly plane, if you will — and it was so shattering that Nyro herself couldn't come up with a follow-up for four years. Columbia reissued the Verve album (as The First Songs) during the interim, but by then, apparently, the magic had moved on. The gem of this collection, perhaps, is "The Wind". After reviewing the original by Nolan Strong and the Diablos, Gamble and Huff decided to emphasize its ethereal qualities and toss out the rest. And it works: the voices are muted and wistful, the chorus soft and breathy, nearly wordless — not unlike the wind itself. In some ways, Gonna Take a Miracle is godmother to all those tribute albums cluttering up the racks these days. And while one last miracle was not forthcoming — Laura Nyro died in the spring of 1997 of ovarian cancer, not yet fifty — she did live long enough to see her music live again for another generation, and maybe, in the long run, that's miracle enough. © 1997-2001 by Charles G. Hill Posted 13 April 1997 http://www.dustbury.com/music/nyromir.html

With the 1971 release Gonna Take a Miracle, pop composer and vocalist Laura Nyro completed her four-album/four-year deal for Columbia. Nyro's passion for R&B can be traced back to some of her earliest compositions, such as "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Stoned Soul Picnic" — both of which were covered by the R&B vocal quintet the Fifth Dimension. More recently, her version of "Up on the Roof" was one of the highlights of Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. So, enthusiasts who had paid any attention at all to the course of Nyro's career would not have been surprised by her direction on this project. As much as Gonna Take a Miracle is indeed a Laura Nyro album, it could likewise, and perhaps more accurately, be described as a collaborative effort between Nyro and the female soul trio LaBelle — featuring Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash — as well as producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It is ultimately this team that is responsible for the album's overwhelmingly solid results. Leading off in an apropos style is a succulent cover of the Shirelles hit "I Met Him on a Sunday." The vocal performance is structured as a round — with each woman singing a consecutive line. The song is rightfully returned to the street corner doo wop tradition from which it originated with the simplicity of unadorned vocals creating an inconspicuous a cappella symphony. Nyro has never sounded so comfortable, easy, or "in her element" than she does backed by an all-star Philly soul ensemble that Gamble and Huff assembled for these sessions. The material reaches beyond just the sounds of Philadelphia, with Motown ("You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Nowhere to Run") and Brill Building ("Spanish Harlem"), as well as lesser-known covers of the Charts' "Desiree" and the Baltimore-based Royalettes "It's Gonna Take a Miracle." In 2002, Sony/Legacy issued an "expanded and remastered edition" of this album, including four "bonus tracks": "Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "O-o-h Child," and "Up on the Roof" — all of which are previously unissued live solo performances. © Lindsay Planer © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jk1gtq2ztu43

LAURA NYRO BIO

Laura Nyro was one of pop music's true originals: A brilliant and innovative composer, her songs found greater commercial success in the hands of other performers, but her own records — intricate, haunting works highlighting her singularly powerful vocal phrasing, evocative lyrics, and alchemical fusion of gospel, soul, folk, and jazz structures — remain her definitive artistic legacy. The daughter of a jazz trumpeter, she was born Laura Nigro on October 18, 1947, and composed her first songs at the age of eight. After attending Manhattan's famed High School of Music and Art, she began performing in area clubs, drawing on influences as diverse as Bob Dylan and John Coltrane. In 1967, Nyro issued her first LP, More Than a New Discovery; though commercially unsuccessful, the album was a treasure trove of material for other artists — the Fifth Dimension scored with "Wedding Bell Blues" and "Blowin' Away," Barbra Streisand covered "Stoney End," and Blood, Sweat & Tears tackled "And When I Die." In 1967, Nyro made just her second major live appearance to date at the Monterey Pop Festival, where her idiosyncratic performance baffled the crowd. However, David Geffen — a music agent at the time — caught her set and was so impressed that he quit his current position to become her manager. He also won Nyro a contract with Columbia, and in 1968 she returned with the extraordinary Eli and the Thirteenth Confession. While the album earned vast critical acclaim, she again found commercial success not with her own recordings, but with covers of Eli's songs, as the Fifth Dimension reached the charts with renditions of "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Sweet Blindness," while "Eli's Comin'" became a major hit for Three Dog Night. New York Tendaberry, released in 1969, fared better thanks to the strong word of mouth now trailing her work; the record's "Time and Love" and "Save the Country" soon emerged as two of her most well-regarded and popular songs. With 1970's Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, she continued her exploration of soul music, enlisting Muscle Shoals staples like Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, and Eddie Hinton; "Beads of Sweat" also featured guitar work from Duane Allman. Gonna Take a Miracle, recorded with Labelle and the production team of Gamble & Huff, marked a dramatic left turn in 1971; Nyro's lone album of non-original material, it featured her tributes to Motown ("Jimmy Mack," "Nowhere to Run"), doo wop ("The Bells," "Spanish Harlem"), and the girl group era ("I Met Him on a Sunday"). At the age of 24, Nyro announced her retirement; she married, severed her industry connections, and moved to a small community in New England. However, the marriage ended in divorce, and in 1976 she resurfaced with Smile; a subsequent tour yielded the 1977 live set Season of Lights. However, the long layoff derailed whatever chart momentum her music had accrued, and after the dismal sales of 1978's Nested, she again retreated from the music business. When Nyro finally returned from her self-imposed exile in 1984 with Mother's Spiritual, her music had grown more reserved and introspective; as the title indicated, her own motherhood provided considerable inspiration for her new work, as did her rustic New England lifestyle. While she did not make any overt declarations of retirement, Nyro waited another five years before issuing her next LP, Live at the Bottom Line, recorded at the legendary New York club; Walk the Dog & Light the Light, her first collection of new material in nearly a decade, followed in 1993. Four years later, Nyro died of ovarian cancer, on April 8, 1997. A posthumous album, Angel in the Dark, was issued in 2001, and several additional live recordings also surfaced. © Jason Ankeny © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fiftxqr5ld6e~T1

LABELLE BIO

The female trio responsible for the proto-disco funk classic "Lady Marmalade," LaBelle's outlandish space-age costumes and brash incorporation of rock & roll were a far cry from their early days as a typical '60s girl group, not to mention the later solo career of frontwoman Patti LaBelle. While Patti naturally seems like the focal point in hindsight, the group was also blessed with a talented and prolific songwriter in Nona Hendryx, who followed an idiosyncratic muse into her own mercurial solo career, which often bordered on the avant-garde. The group's first incarnation was that of a quartet. Friends Patricia Holt and Cindy Birdsong had been singing together in a Philadelphia group called the Ordettes, and in 1962 they teamed up with Wynona "Nona" Hendryx and Sarah Dash, both members of a rival outfit called the Del Capris. At the suggestion of producer Bobby Martin, Holt changed her last name to LaBelle to match with the group's official name, the BlueBelles. Strangely enough, Patti LaBelle & the BlueBelles may not have even performed on their first hit; a group called the Starlets cut a single called "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman," which was released with the name the Blue-Belles on the label. Some accounts hold that the Starlets actually backed LaBelle, or that her vocal was overlaid, while others suggest that the lead voice wasn't LaBelle's at all. Whatever the case, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" became a Top 20 R&B and pop hit in 1962, and the BlueBelles started touring the R&B circuit behind it. Their next hit came in 1963 with the dramatic ballad "Down the Aisle," another R&B Top 20, and they hit the Top 40 again in 1964 with renditions of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the Irish standard "Danny Boy," solidifying their penchant for sentimental, classic-style pop. In 1965, the BlueBelles signed with major label Atlantic, and had some success with a version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which remained in Patti LaBelle's concert repertoire for decades. Despite cutting an early version of "Groovy Kind of Love" (later a number one hit for the Mindbenders, not to mention Phil Collins), though, the BlueBelles' tenure wasn't as commercially productive as hoped. Cindy Birdsong left in 1967 to replace Florence Ballard in the Supremes, permanently reducing the group to a trio. With no real hits forthcoming, Atlantic wound up dropping them in 1969. In search of a makeover, they hired former British television producer Vicki Wickham (the music series Ready, Steady, Go!) as their new manager and producer in 1970. Wickham remade the group for the '70s, shortening their name to LaBelle and pushing them into a more contemporary fusion of R&B and rock; plus, the advent of glam rock suggested a new direction for their stage act, and the trio donned outrageous, space-themed costumes replete with glitter, silver, and/or feathers. LaBelle opened for the Who on an American tour and sang backup on singer/songwriter Laura Nyro's acclaimed R&B-themed album Gonna Take a Miracle in 1971. Signing with Warner Brothers, the revamped LaBelle made their debut in 1971 with an eponymous album that featured soul treatments of rock and pop material by the likes of Nyro, the Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers, and Carole King. The follow-up, 1972's Moonshadow, featured the Cat Stevens-penned title track and the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," and also included more material written by Nona Hendryx. Neither album was all that commercially successful, and they left Warner to record one album for RCA, 1973's Pressure Cookin', where Hendryx's writing constituted the vast majority of the record. In 1974, LaBelle signed with Epic, and the label sent them to New Orleans to record with famed producer Allen Toussaint. The result, Nightbirds, featured the deeply funky single "Lady Marmalade," an ode to a New Orleans prostitute with the indelible French chorus "voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" ("you want to go to bed with me tonight?"). Penned by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, "Lady Marmalade" shot to number one on both the pop and R&B charts in early 1975, sending Nightbirds into the Top Ten and making it LaBelle's first gold album. "Lady Marmalade" proved to be a tough act to follow. Despite four more charting R&B singles over the next two years, nothing duplicated the phenomenon of LaBelle's first major hit. 1975's Phoenix and 1976's Chameleon were relative commercial disappointments, even though they featured some of the group's finest vocal performances, plus increasingly ambitious and sophisticated writing by Hendryx. In fact, Hendryx's vision was pulling her away from the rest of LaBelle, and by the end of 1976, the group had disbanded to pursue solo careers. Hendryx immediately began recording in a funk-rock hybrid, and in the early '80s drifted into downtown New York's avant-garde scene, where she worked often with Bill Laswell; her solo records were sometimes accessible and frequently challenging. Patti LaBelle, of course, went on to a hugely successful and long-lived career as an R&B hitmaker with adult contemporary appeal, scoring hits like "New Attitude" and the number one Michael McDonald duet "On My Own." As for Sarah Dash, she made several solo albums that failed to attract much attention, but found her way into the Rolling Stones' sphere by the late '80s, working as a backup singer on both solo and group projects. Over 30 years following their breakup, the trio got back together to make 2008's Back to Now for the Verve label. Gamble & Huff, Lenny Kravitz, and Wyclef Jean were just a few of those who were involved in the sessions. © Steve Huey http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wifqxqe5ldde © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved