vendredi 13 mars 2026
Ashford & Simpson (Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson)
As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "Solid" (1984) and "Found a Cure" (1979). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They are also recipients of The Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award, ASCAP Founders Award, and the Grammy Trustee Award.[3][4] Rolling Stone ranked them No. 19 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.[5]
Nick Ashford was also an occasional actor, having appeared as Reverend Oates in the 1991 movie New Jack City.
The duo essentially had two careers: one as a successful writing and producing team and the other as singers and performers themselves. They started their career in the mid-1960s, writing for artists such as the 5th Dimension ("California Soul"), Aretha Franklin ("Cry Like a Baby"), and Ray Charles ("Let's Go Get Stoned").[6] Their work with Charles brought them to the attention of Motown chief Berry Gordy.[6]
Upon joining the Motown staff in 1966, Ashford & Simpson were paired with the vocal duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and they wrote and/or produced all but one of the late-1960s Gaye/Terrell singles, including hits such as the original version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "You're All I Need to Get By".[6] According to Gaye in the book Divided Soul, Simpson did most of the vocals on the last album he did with Terrell, Easy, as a way for Terrell's family to have additional income, as she was battling an ultimately fatal brain tumor. Though Louvain Demps, singer of the Andantes, has stated that she saw Terrell recording the album, Simpson is quoted as saying, in a book written by Terrell's sister Ludie Montgomery, what they saw was her singing the guide tracks for the album, which were later replaced by Tammi's own vocals.
Ashford & Simpson wrote and produced almost all the songs on three 1970s albums for former Supreme Diana Ross, including her first solo album Diana Ross ("Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)")[7] and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Surrender ("Remember Me"), and The Boss.[6] All three albums were critically acclaimed with Diana Ross, her 1970 album debut, and The Boss being certified platinum and "Surrender" certified gold.
Other Motown artists whom Ashford & Simpson worked with include Gladys Knight & the Pips ("Didn't You Know You'd Have to Cry Sometime", and after Motown they wrote and produced for this group "Landlord", "Bourgie, Bourgie", and "Taste of Bitter Love"), Smokey Robinson & the Miracles ("Who's Gonna Take the Blame"), Syreeta Wright ("I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You"), the Marvelettes ("Destination: Anywhere"), Martha Reeves and the Vandellas ("Tear It On Down" and "It Ain't Like That"), the Dynamic Superiors ("Shoe, Shoe Shine"), Blinky Williams ("I Wouldn't Change the Man He Is"), and the Supremes with the Four Tops (original duets, plus the production of a hit cover of Phil Spector's "River Deep-Mountain High").
Other artists with whom Ashford & Simpson had hits were Teddy Pendergrass ("Is It Still Good to Ya"), the Brothers Johnson ("Ride-O-Rocket"), Stephanie Mills ("Keep Away Girls"), Ace Spectrum ("Don't Send Nobody Else') and Chaka Khan, both on her own ("I'm Every Woman" and "Clouds"), and with Rufus ("Keep It Comin'" and "Ain't Nothin' But a Maybe").
Ashford & Simpson's career as recording artists began in the early 1960s as part of the gospel group the Followers, with whom they recorded the album Gospel Meeting (on Forum Circle), later issued as Meetin' The Followers (on Roulette Records). The LP contains their vocals and also four Ashford compositions. In 1964, they recorded "I'll Find You", as "Valerie & Nick". That was followed by several obscure singles recorded by Ashford on the Glover, Verve and ABC labels, such as "It Ain't Like That" (not the same song as they would later write for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas), "California Soul", and "Dead End Kids", backed by his own version of "Let's Go Get Stoned".
Simpson appeared (with Melba Moore) as part of the "Blood, Sweat & Tears Soul Chorus" on the band's debut album Child Is Father to the Man in 1968. After concentrating on working with other artists, Simpson was the featured soloist on the songs "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "What's Going On" on the Quincy Jones albums Gula Matari in 1970, and its follow-up, Smackwater Jack.
Simpson subsequently recorded two solo LPs for Motown: Exposed in 1971, and, the following year, Valerie Simpson, which included the single "Silly, Wasn't I". In 1973, they left Motown after the albums Simpson recorded for the label received poor promotion, and the company refused to release an album of the duo recording a collection of their most famous songs for other artists.
Ashford and Simpson married after resuming their career as a duo[6] and would go on to have two daughters.[8][9] In 1973, Warner Bros. released their first duo album titled Gimme Something Real. This was followed in 1974 by I Wanna Be Selfish. In 1975, Simpson sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's number-one hit "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", and in 1976 they released Come As You Are. 1977 saw the release of two albums – So So Satisfied and Send it. This was followed by the hit singles "Send It", "Don't Cost You Nothin'" (1977), "It Seems To Hang On" (1978), "Is It Still Good To Ya" (1978), "Found a Cure" (1979), "Street Corner" (1982), and their biggest hit, "Solid", released in 1984.[6]
In 1978, they were featured as vocalists along with Chaka Khan, on the hit single "Stuff Like That" from Quincy Jones' Sounds...and Stuff Like That!! album and contributed to the writing of the soundtrack to The Wiz.
In 1986, the duo appeared as themselves in "Nocturne", an episode of the popular television series The Equalizer, where they performed their hit single "Count Your Blessings" from their Real Love album.
On his own, Ashford (along with Frank Wilson) produced the hit "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me", which Diana Ross & the Supremes recorded in collaboration with the Temptations in 1968. He also appeared in the movie New Jack City (1991), as Reverend Oates, an ordained minister who was part of Nino Brown's entourage.
Simpson's brothers were in the record business as well: Ray Simpson replaced Victor Willis in the Village People and their brother Jimmy Simpson produced the group GQ (which had big hits with "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)" and "I Do Love You"), and was in great demand as a mixing engineer during the disco era.
In latter times, Ashford & Simpson recorded and toured sporadically, and in 1996, they opened a restaurant and live entertainment venue, Sugar Bar in New York City, with an open mic on Thursday nights, where performers included Queen Latifah, Vickie Natale and Felicia Collins. Ashford & Simpson recorded the album Been Found with poet Maya Angelou in 1996.[10] Around that time, they were also featured disc jockeys on New York radio station WRKS.
On August 16, 2006, Playbill Online reported that they were writing the score for a musical based on E. Lynn Harris's novel Invisible Life.[11]
Ashford died at the age of 70 in a New York City hospital on August 22, 2011, four days before Valerie Simpson's 65th birthday, of complications from throat cancer. His publicist, Liz Rosenberg, said that he had undergone radiation therapy to treat his illness.[12][13]
Simpson released a solo album in June 2012, called Dinosaurs Are Coming Back Again, which also featured the last recorded performance of Nina Simone, a second duet with Roberta Flack and an instrumental version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".[14]
In May 2014, Simpson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
In 1969, Ashford and Simpson won three BMI Awards for the songs "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "Your Precious Love."[16]
Ashford and Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. They were also recipients of The Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1999, and ASCAP's highest honor, the Founders Award, which they received in 1996.[4]
Simpson was inducted among the inaugural honorees to the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.
Ashford & Simpson – The Real Thing 2009
Ashford & Simpson With Maya Angelou – Been Found 1996
After an extremely long time without a recording contract, the dynamic R&B husband-and-wife singing duo Ashford & Simpson decided to create their own label. This time out, they returned with a friend, the poet Maya Angelou. This is far from their best material, but the concept itself makes this an interesting project. Throughout these 11 urban adult contemporary songs Ashford & Simpson weave their luminous harmonies around Angelou's distinctively gravel-voiced recitations. The title track is the most inviting and boasts a delicious chorus on the subject of finding true love that will last. Angelou opens "Where We Come From," a reflection on childhood, with heartfelt nostalgia that works very well with the song's construction. However, sometimes the hip-hop influence later in the set becomes overwhelming on cuts like "This Time It's Real" and "Made for Me"; moreover, the poems don't always snugly fit the songs, but seem to have been inserted for no reason other than the idea that each song should have one. Still, Ashford & Simpson's following will savor this set in spite of its flaws.
Love or Physical 1989
Love or Physical is an album by the American musical duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1989.[2][3] The first single was "I'll Be There for You".[4] The duo would not record another album until their collaboration with Maya Angelou in 1996, Been Found.[5] The album peaked at No. 135 on the Billboard 200..
The title track was originally called "Honest to Goodness Love"; it in part alludes to AIDS and infidelity.
Real Love 1986
Real Love is an album by the American R&B duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1986 via Capitol Records.[1][2]
The album peaked at No. 74 on the Billboard 200.[3] It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" category.[4] The duo promoted the album with an appearance on One Life to Live and a North American tour.
All tracks from the album were written and produced by Ashford & Simpson.[6] Stevie Wonder contributed a harmonica solo to "Nobody Walks in L.A.
Solid 1984
Solid is the eleventh studio album recorded by American vocal duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1984 on the Capitol label. The album features the song "Solid", which became the songwriting duo's biggest hit as performers.
The album peaked at No. 1 on the US R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 29 on the Billboard 200. The album's title track peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Black Singles chart, No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.[3] Also featured are two other chart singles: "Outta the World" and "Babies".
High-Rise 1983
Ashford & Simpson had come close to exhausting their creative quotient by the mid-'80s. Simpson
still sang effectively, and Ashford harmonized and contrasted her
nicely, but they'd stated and restated both their own situations and any
variations on it four albums before. As a result, the feeling that
you've heard it all once too often permeates this album. Not that their
fans wouldn't want to listen once more, nor that what they had to say
wasn't at times compelling; it's just that it no longer was special.
Street Opera 1982
Ashford & Simpson came up with an intriguing tack for this early-'80s session: take a contemporary situation and use a quasi-operatic format to illuminate it. The only problem came in the execution; the songs weren't up to the concept, although most weren't terrible. They were just good, faceless urban contemporary dance and love tunes, hardly the kind of transcendent things needed to make this worthy of operatic pretensions.
A Musical Affair 1980
The year 1980 was fairly eventful for Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. In addition to writing and producing Gladys Knight & the Pips' excellent About Love, the duo had a major hit of their own with the snappy "Love Don't Make It Right." Nonetheless, 1980's A Musical Affair didn't go down in history as one of Ashford & Simpson's essential albums. This vinyl LP isn't bad; most of the tracks are decent, and a few are excellent, most notably "Love Don't Make It Right," the melancholy "Get Out Your Hankerchief," and the sentimental ballad "Happy Endings." But overall, A Musical Affair isn't exceptional -- likable and pleasant, but not exceptional. After five-star treasures like 1977's Send It, 1978's Is It Still Good to Ya, and 1979's Stay Free, one greeted this record with high expectations; however, A Musical Affair falls short of the consistent excellence that had characterized some of their best late-'70s albums. Some might even go so far as to say that in 1980, Ashford & Simpson gave their best songs to Gladys Knight & the Pips, whose About Love is nothing to be ashamed of. Both commercially and creatively, that LP was the group's most successful album since 1974's I Feel a Song. In fact, the single ("Landlord") made it to number three on Billboard's R&B singles chart. So Ashford & Simpson certainly did right by Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1980, even though their own 1980 album falls short of essential. A Musical Affair is best recommended to Ashford & Simpson's hardcore fans.
Stay Free 1979
Stay Free is an album by the American R&B duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1979. It peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard 200.
"Found a Cure" peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Disco Top 100 chart.
The title track was spectacular, and the rest of the album was expertly produced, performed, and arranged. Ashford & Simpson dominated the '70s as few couples ever have in any era; they were the textbook blend of classic R&B energy and urban contemporary class and sophistication. Their best material was neither so generic that it lacked soul, nor so soulful that it couldn't attract a crossover audience.
Is It Still Good to Ya 1978
Is It Still Good to Ya is the sixth studio album recorded by American vocal duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1978 on the Warner Bros. label. The album was remastered and reissued with bonus tracks in 2015 by Big Break Records. The album sold more than 500,000 copies in its first two years of release.
The album peaked at No. 1 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 20 on the Billboard 200. The album features the single, "It Seems to Hang On", which peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. The title track also charted at No. 12 on the Hot Soul Singles chart.
The title track was subsequently covered by Teddy Pendergrass, in a version produced by the duo on his 1980 album T.P. which peaked at No. 3 on the R&B albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.
Send It 1977
Send It is not only one of Ashford & Simpson's finest releases, it is also the album that made them major stars as vocalists. As songwriters and producers, the Nick Ashford/Valerie Simpson team had been providing major hits since the '60s -- Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye (with Tammi Terrell), and Diana Ross are among the R&B/pop artists who had recorded their songs. But it wasn't until 1977's Send It that Ashford & Simpson's singing became as famous as their songwriting and producing. Send It was the first Ashford & Simpson album that went gold in the U.S., where over 500,000 copies were sold -- and it isn't hard to see why it did so well. From the sentimental title song to more up-tempo offerings like "By Way of Love's Express," "Top of the Stairs," and the funky "Don't Cost You Nothin' (a major hit), this album is excellent. Send It also includes the dance-oriented instrumental "Bourgie Bourgie," which became a vocal number when, in 1980, lyrics were added for a remake by Gladys Knight & the Pips. "Bourgie Bourgie" was a bigger hit for that group, although Ashford & Simpson's original version enjoyed a fair amount of exposure in dance clubs. Sleek, polished, and sophisticated, but not without grit, Send It is the essence of '70s Northern soul. If you only have a few Ashford & Simpson releases in your collection, the essential Send It should be one of them.
So So Satisfied 1977
The Ashford & Simpson sound was always lush, sentimental, and soulful, yet subdued. That's the case on this 1977 release. The title cut was a moderate hit, and, as always, the sweeping strings, lyrics, and production were first-rate. Ashford & Simpson albums could get extremely sappy, and at times this one did as well. But they were also usually superbly performed and constructed, and So So Satisfied was no exception.
Come as You Are 1976
One of Ashford & Simpson's best Warner Bros. albums, especially from a production standpoint. The mix between up-tempo and slow, love songs and dance tunes was perfect, and their interaction had been honed to the point where each anticipated the other. Simpson's soaring vocals and Ashford's less-impressive but still strong support, plus their outstanding harmonizing, was at its peak.
I Wanna Be Selfish 1974
Ashford & Simpson were in the midst of their hit string of Warner Bros. albums when they released this. They included bits and pieces of gospel-tinged R&B, disco, funk, and sophisticated pop, linking everything through their own energetic vocals and harmonies, plus skillful production and a good group of songs.
Gimme Something Real 1973
This album launched the soul duo Ashford & Simpson on a run of successful Warner Bros. albums. The title track and several other singles utilized the patented formula of gospel-tinged vocals; slick, polished backing; and alternately sentimental or earnest lyrics.
The MANHATTANS - There’s No Me Without You, That’s How Much I Love You, The Manhattans, It Feels So Good (BGO Records 2025)
Tremendous harmony soul from The Manhattans – four crucial albums that really have them hitting their stride! First up is There's No Me Without You – The Manhattans' first album for Columbia – and a monster LP that showed that there was no turning back for the group! After cutting some seminal indie singles for the Carnival label during the 60s, the group sort of bumped around a bit during the early 70s – but with the release of this album, they emerged as a perfectly formed harmony group, armed with a sophisticated adult sound that sounded light years ahead of most of their contemporaries, who were still singing falsetto soul or simple pop. Gerald Alston is a lead vocalist on a par with Teddy Pendergrass in his later years – and the arrangements by Bobby Martin at Sigma Sound are some of his best mellow work of the decade. Titles include "Wish That You Were Mine", "You'd Better Believe It", "We Made It", "There's No Me Without You", and "The Day The Robin Sang To Me". Next is That's How Much I Love You – sublime work from The Manhattans – who are on top of the world at this point! The group's harmonies are excellent, a bit rough in the best parts – ala Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes during the Teddy Pendergrass years – but also capable of tremendous strength when forged together, which happens often on the album's tight set of Philly-produced tracks. Bobby Martin arranged the material, and backing is by the cream of Sigma Sound – a perfect backdrop for gems like "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "That's How Much I Love You", "Summertime In The City", "Strange Old World", and "I Don't Want To Pay The Price Of Losing You". The self-titled The Manhattans is a Philly soul classic from the group – one of their best 70s albums, and a record that showed that they were firmly out of the indie ghetto, and totally on top of their game! The record features arrangements and production by Bobby Martin and Bert DeCoteaux – bubbling along in that soaring style that you'd recognize best from Philly International albums of the time, but which also has some nice traces of the mellower ballad work that first put the group on the map. Every tune is perfect – the kind of sublime soul that easily explains why a record like this could be found in every single record collection of every single soul listener of the time – and titles include "La La La Wish Upon A Star", "We'll Have Forever To Love", "Take It Or Leave It", "Reasons", "Wonderful World Of Love", "Searching For Love", and the incredible "Kiss & Say Goodbye". It Feels So Good is just the kind of record to show why the group stayed so great after all the years! The ballads are wonderful – arguably even better than the group's indie label days – with a depth of feeling, fullness of harmonies, and magical balance between the rough and the smooth! Bobby Martin produced, using a sophisticated Philly mode, but one that's never overdone – cool and confident, but never too brash at all. A few of the groovers are a bit mellow – nicely stepping around a midtempo mode that still allows lots of vocal power – and titles include "I Kinda Miss You", "Let's Start It All Over Again", "It's You", "Mind Your Business", "Too Much For Me To Bear", and "It Just Can't Stay This Way".
LOU RAWLS - All Things In Time, Unmistakably Lou, When You Hear Lou, You’ve Heard It All, Let Me Be Good To You (BGO Records 2025)
A fantastic run of music – four albums recorded by Lou Rawls for Philadelphia International records – all presented here in a single set! First up is All Things In Time – a killer – and one of our favorite Philly International albums ever! This is the album that broke Lou Rawls back into the mainstream for the smooth 70s – retuning his incredible voice with waves of soul and strings in the Gamble & Huff tradition – and giving him a whole new voice than on his Capitol recordings! The album will forever be remembered for the seminal single "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" – but it's filled with other great bits, including"Groovy People", a wonderful jazzy groover, and "You're The One", and "Lets Fall In Love All Over Again". Unmistakably Lou is one of the greatest records ever by Lou Rawls – if only for one cut! That's the amazing "See You When I Get There", which starts with a Fender Rhodes riff over a hard thumping beat – while Lou does this little monologue about calling his woman at home. Then strings sweep in, the groove gets harder, and Lou sings a great song about the pride of being a middle class guy with a great home to come home to! Many other tracks are a bit more mellow – and titles include "It's Our Anniversary Today", "Some Folks Never Learn", and the wonderful two-stepper "Some Day You'll Be Old". When You Hear Lou is key proof that the move to Philly International did wonders for Lou's career – and there's no denying that the smooth soul sound of Gamble and Huff worked perfectly with his rich vocal style! The "classy" setting took Lou to a whole new level, while also providing a good force for his still-soulful vocals to work a lot harder than in earlier years. This album's got a few of Lou's best tracks from the era – including the semi-hit "Lady Love", and the nice groover "Dollar Green". Other titles include "That Would Do It For Me", "There Will Be Love", "Trade Winds", and "I Wish It Were Yesterday". Let Me Be Good To You is one of Lou's classics for Philly International – a warm mix of smooth soul and adult vocals, handled with some great arrangements by Dexter Wansel and Thom Bell. There's less standout singles on this set than previous Philly records, but Lou's class and quality makes nearly every track come out wonderfully – a masterpiece of soulful understatement and grace. Titles include "We Keep Getting Closer To Being Further Apart", "Time Will Take Care Of Everything", "What's The Matter With The World", "Bark Bite", and "Lover's Holiday".
BILLY PAUL - Ebony Woman, Going East, 360 Degrees Of Billy Paul, War Of The Gods (BGO Records 2025)
Four incredible albums from Billy Paul – all brought together here in a single set! First up is Ebony Woman – an amazing early album from Billy Paul – the start of a rich career of sophisticated soul, and a record that really put Paul on the map right away – making him one of the most soulful interpreters of song in the 70s! There's a mix of modes going on here that's a bit similar to the early solo work of Isaac Hayes – a way of mixing mature styles from jazz, soul, and pop – into a blend that's all very much Billy's own, and which completely grabs you right from the start! The first track, "Ebony Woman", perfectly sums up Billy's style – one of those haunting tunes that never lets us down – and the album follows with a brilliant mix of tunes that includes nice groovers like "Everyday People" and "Psychedelic Sally" – plus the tracks "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "Windy", and "Let's Fall In Love All Over Again", all given a great soulful vibe and a very different twist! Going East is one of Billy Paul's greatest albums ever – or perhaps the greatest! The record is an amazing blend of soul, jazz, and a soaring sense of spiritualism that's not only rare for Billy Paul – but which makes the record sound different than any other Philly International LP from the time! Billy's way more than a soul singer here – and working in a mode that's very high-concept, reaching towards the sky to bring a new maturity to the music that pushes way past his other pop and soul recordings in the 70s – almost with a consciousness of the spiritual jazz underground, but a bit more focused as well. You can hear this best on the classic track "East", a swirling long groover that takes an extended funky soul jazz journey – and other good cuts include "Jesus Boy (You Only Look Like A Man)", "Love Buddies", "I Wish It Were Yesterday", "Magic Carpet Ride", "This Is Your Life", and a nice cover of "Compared To What". 360 Degrees is Billy Paul at the height of his powers – able to capture the ears of the crossover audience, yet still stay very strongly on message – all with this righteous power that maybe makes Billy one of the hippest mainstream soul stars of the 70s! Gamble & Huff are at the helm, and arrangements at Sigma Sound are by Lenny Pakula, Norman Harris, and Bobby Martin – but throughout the whole thing, it's Billy's delivery that really sends the record over the top – the new sense of maturity he brings to the huge hit "Me & Mrs Jones", the funky vibe of "Am I Black Enough For You", and the wealth of great work on tracks that include "I'm Gonna Make It This Time", "I'm Just A Prisoner", "Brown Baby", and "Let's Stay Together". A masterpiece of sophisticated soul that not only had Billy crossing over big, but which opened whole new doors in the market for black male singers! War Of The Gods is a stone treasure from one of the greatest soul singers of the 70s – and a set you'll regularly find in the coolest of record collections from back in the day! Billy Paul was always one of the hippest talents on Philly International – mixing together soul and jazz influences with a deeper sense of spirituality, and long experience as a sophisticated vocalist. This album's one of his most sublime efforts – kind of a quasi-spiritual record with a similar high-concept approach to some of Marvin Gaye's work from the same time – really righteous, in ways that the Philly label didn't always hit – and which really goes past even most of Billy's already hip previous efforts. Gamble and Huff produced and wrote most of the record – including the two long tracks that make up side one, "I See The Light" and "War Of The Gods", the latter of which starts out slow and moody, then breaks out into a club groove. Other titles include the more standard soul tune "The Whole Town's Talking", plus "Thanks For Saving My Life" and "Peace Holy Peace".
jeudi 12 mars 2026
Gladys Knight & The Pips — ImaginationI / Feel A Song / 2nd Anniversary / One & Only (2026)
Four post-Motown gems from Gladys Knight & The Pips – presented here in a single set! First up is Imagination, a pivotal album for Gladys Knight and group – as the record features their super-huge hit "The Midnight Train To Georgia", a landmark track that not only had a catchy pop hook, but which spoke volumes about African-American migration in the postwar years. The track's one of those you've heard a million times, but it's got a strength that still holds up tremendously. Part of this is due to great production work by Tony Camillo – who handled arrangements and studio work on about half the tracks – and part is due to Jim Weatherly, who wrote the song, and about half the others on the album. The whole album's great – one of the best Buddah Records moments for the group – and titles include "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Window Raising Granny", "Where Peaceful Waters Flow", "Once In A Lifetime Thing", "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me", and "Storms Of Trouble Times". Next is I Feel A Song – rock-solid Buddah work from Gladys Knight & The Pips – still pretty righteous on the vocal tip, but often a bit fuller and more polished than before! Knight shows a great talent for a mature ballad here – no big hits, but that's part of the charm of the set – as there's a personal, intimate quality to the tunes that also comes from the less-familiar nature of the lyrics. A few more tunes get a bit uptempo – to be expected when Tony Camillo's helping with production and arrangements – and the album features the great sample cut "Don't Burn Down The Bridge", plus the tracks "I Feel A Song", "Seconds", "Love Finds Its Own Way", "Better Go Your Way", "The Goings Up & The Comings Down", "Tenderness Is His Way", and "The Need To Be". Next is 2nd Anniversary, a record that celebrates the second anniversary of Gladys Knight & The Pips on Buddah Records – and an album that really shows the new level of depth the group were able to hit at the label! A key factor on the album is work by Eugene McDaniels – who produced the record, and wrote a good number of tracks too – really pushing Gladys and the group into righteous territory they wouldn't have touched a few years before – a deeper groove that really matches some of their best soundtrack material of the mid 70s! Gladys really stretches out wonderfully with her leads – and the Pips provide just the right sort of warm backdrop to hold things together. Titles include "Street Brother", "At Every End There's A Beginning", "Summer Sun", "Feel Like Making Love", and "Money". Last is One Only, the last Buddah Records album from Gladys Knight & The Pips – and a set that's a great summation of all the new territory the group hit with the label! The album's a mix of the mellower ballads that made Gladys one of the biggest female soul singers of the 70s, and some of the upbeat groovers that turned out to be a really great fit for the group's style – a mode that's not really disco, but which offers a strong mix of strings and rhythms. Tony Camillo and Van McCoy both bring some good production elements to the record – and titles include "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right", "Come Back & Finish What You Started", "It's A Better Than Good Time", "Saved By The Grace Of Your Love", "Butterfly", and "The One & Only".
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