Tag Archives: Bill Withers

Bill Withers: Just As I Am

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In May 1971, “Sussex” label released “Just As I Am”, the debut Bill Withers studio album. It was recorded in 1971, at “Sunset Sound”, “Wally Heider Studios” in Hollywood, and was produced by Booker T. Jones. The album song “Ain’t No Sunshine”, was ranked at number 280 on “Rolling Stone’s” magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.

Personnel:

  • Bill Withers – vocals, guitar
  • Stephen Stills– guitar
  • Booker T. Jones– guitar, keyboards
  • Chris Ethridge- bass
  • Donald “Duck” Dunn– bass
  • Al Jackson Jr.– drums
  • Jim Keltner– drums
  • Bobbye Hall– percussion

Track listing:.

All tracks by Bill Withers; except where noted.

  1. Harlem
  2. Ain’t No Sunshine
  3. Grandma’s Hands
  4. Sweet Wanomi
  5. Everybody’s Talkin’ – Fred Neil
  6. Do it Good
  7. Hope She’ll Be Happier
  8. Let it Be – John Lennon, Paul McCartney
  9. I’m Her Daddy
  10. In My Heart
  11. Moanin’ and Groanin’
  12. Better Off Dead

Joe Cocker: Sheffield Steel

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Sheffield_Steel

On May 22, 1982, “Island” label released “Sheffield Steel”, the eighth Joe Cocker studio album.It was recorded at “Compass Point Studios” in Nassau, Bahamas,  and was produced by Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin.

Personnel:

  • Joe Cocker – lead vocals
  • Adrian Belew,Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung – guitars
  • Wally Badarou – keyboards
  • Robbie Shakespeare – bass
  • Sly Dunbar – drums
  • Uziah “Sticky” Thompson – percussion
  • Robert Palmer,Jimmy Cliff – backing vocals
  • Ted Jensen– mastering

Track listing:

  1. Look What You’ve Done – Leo Nocentelli
  2. Shocked – Ira Ingber, Greg Sutton
  3. Sweet Little Woman – Andy Fraser
  4. Seven Days – Bob Dylan
  5. Marie – Randy Newman
  6. Ruby Lee – Bill Withers, Melvin Dunlap
  7. Many Rivers to Cross – Jimmy Cliff
  8. So Good, So Right – Brenda Russell
  9. Talking Back to the Night – Steve Winwood, Will Jennings
  10. Just Like Always – Jimmy Webb

Aretha Franklin: Let Me In Your Life

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Let_Me_In_Your_Life

On February 25, 1974, “Atlantic” label released “Let Me in Your Life”, the twenty-first Aretha Franklin studio album. It was recorded April – September 1973, at the “Whitney Studios” in Glendale, and was produced by Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin.

Personnel:

  • Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, acoustic and electric piano
  • Donny Hathaway- acoustic and electric piano
  • Bob James- organ, keyboards
  • David Spinozza- guitar
  • Cornell Dupree- guitar
  • Hugh McCracken– guitar
  • Deodato- arranger, electric piano
  • Kenneth Bichel- synthesizer
  • Richard Tee- keyboards
  • Stanley Clarke– bass
  • Chuck Rainey- bass
  • Willie Weeks- bass
  • Rick Marotta- drums
  • Bernard “Pretty” Purdie- drums
  • Pancho Morales – percussion
  • Ralph MacDonald- percussion
  • Arif Mardin- string arranger
  • Gene Orloff- concert master
  • Joe Farrell- tenor saxophone, flute
  • Ernie Royal- trumpet
  • Gwen Guthrie- backing vocals
  • Margaret Branch – backing vocals
  • Cissy Houston- backing vocals
  • Ann S. Clark – backing vocals
  • Sylvia Shemwell – backing vocals
  • Myrna Smith- backing vocals
  • Judy Clay- backing vocals
  • Deirdre Tuck Corley – backing vocals

Track listing:

  1. Let Me in Your Life – Bill Withers
  2. Every Natural Thing – Eddie Hinton
  3. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing – Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson
  4. I’m in Love – Bobby Womack
  5. Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do) – Clarence Paul,Stevie Wonder, Morris Broadnax
  6. The Masquerade is Over – Herbert Magidson, Allie Wrubel
  7. With Pen in Hand – Bobby Goldsboro
  8. Oh Baby – Aretha Franklin
  9. Eight Days On the Road – Michael Gayle, Jerry Ragovoy
  10. If You Don’t Think – Aretha Franklin
  11. A Song for You – Leon Russell

Grover Washington

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On December 17, 1999, Grover Washington, Jr. died aged 56. He was musician (saxophone), composer and arranger, considered to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. Some of his most popular works feature his own compositions and covers of “Mister Magic”, “Take Five”, “Soulful Strut”, “Reed Seed”, “Black Frost”, “Winelight”, “Inner City Blues” and “The Best is Yet to Come”.  In his career he has performed and recorded with many famous musicians, including Kathleen Battle, Kenny Burrell, Hank Crawford, Charles Earland, Dexter Gordon, Urbie Green, Eddie Henderson, Masaru Imada, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Idris Muhammad, Gerry Mulligan, Don Sebesky, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Melvin Sparks, Leon Spencer, Mal Waldron, Randy Weston, Bill Withers and Patti LaBelle.