Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 17, 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Studio | RCA's Mid-America Center, Chicago | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:17 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Harvey Fuqua | |||
New Birth chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) [2] |
Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing is the second album by American funk and R&B collective New Birth, released on July 17, 1971, in North America by RCA.
Released eight months after the release of their self-titled debut album (1970), like the previous album, Ain't No Big Thing was produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua and his assistant Vernon Bullock. Despite the title, the group was transitioning between the instrumental group The Nite-Liters, the female vocalists, The Mint Juleps (which featured Londee Loren (Wiggins), Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent), male vocalists, The New Sounds (Bobby Downs, Ronald Coleman, Gary Martin Young and a gentleman known as "Slim") plus additional vocalist Allen Frey, who also doubled on percussion, and, a downsized version consisting solely of The Nite-Liters, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs, Allen Frey and the group Love, Peace & Happiness, which featured Ann Bogan, formerly of The Marvelettes, Leslie Wilson (who would later lead on "I Can Understand It", "Wildflower" and "It's Been A Long Time") and his brother Melvin. Ann can be heard leading "Honeybee", vocally working out with Londee Loren (and Tanita Gaines) on the exciting "How Good It Feels" and the entire Love, Peace & Happiness" backs the scaled-down group on their classic take on Perry Como's "It's Impossible".
This album established their trademark covers of other people's hits, most notably, in addition to "It's Impossible", The Five Stairsteps' "Ooh Child", Bread's "Make It With You", The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" and James Taylor's "Fire And Rain". At this point Londee's voice hadn't matured (or been challenged by Susaye Greene's vocals on "Until It's Time For You To Go" under The New Birth name), so she perfectly captures Michael Jackson's sound when he was young. Despite their charting with "Impossible,' the group would not come into their own until their fourth album, "Birth Day" in 1972.
Chart (1971) | Peak position |
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Billboard Top LPs [3] | 189 |
Billboard Top R&B Albums [3] | 50 |
Year | Single | Chart positions [4] | |
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US | US R&B | ||
1971 | "It's Impossible" | 52 | 12 |
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
United is a studio album by soul musicians Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, released August 29, 1967 on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Harvey Fuqua and Johnny Bristol produced all of the tracks on the album, with the exception of "You Got What It Takes" and "Oh How I'd Miss You". Fuqua and Bristol produced "Hold Me Oh My Darling" and "Two Can Have a Party" as Tammi Terrell solo tracks in 1965 and 1966, and had Gaye overdub his vocals to them in order to create duet versions of the songs.
You're All I Need is the second studio album by soul musicians Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, released in August 1968 on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. Highlighted by three hit singles written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, You're All I Need was recorded throughout 1966 and 1967 and features two Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By". It peaked at #60 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Chart. You're All I Need was the two singers' final collaboration effort, as Terrell would become ill following recording, before succumbing to a brain tumor in 1970.
Love Child is the fifteenth studio album released by Diana Ross & the Supremes for the Motown label in 1968. The LP was the group's first studio LP not to include any songs written or produced by any member of the Holland–Dozier–Holland production team, who had previously overseen most of the Supremes' releases.
The Very Best of Bananarama is a greatest hits album by English group Bananarama, released on 15 October 2001 by Warner Strategic Marketing and London Records. It was released to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary, including their singles released from 1981 to 1993. The album reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.
Dynamite is the third and last collaborative album between labelmates The Supremes and The Four Tops, released on the Motown label in 1971. The album was a collection of material recorded for the Magnificent Seven albums, but which had not been included on either of those two albums. The cover artwork was an illustration based on photo sessions from the Return of the Magnificent Seven album artwork. In the US, Dynamite was as commercially unsuccessful as The Magnificent 7 (1970) and The Return of the Magnificent Seven (1971), peaking at the lower hundreds of the Billboard Top 200. The album fared much better on the Billboard R&B charts, peaking at 21.
New Birth is an American funk and R&B group. It was originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan by former Motown songwriter/producer, Vernon Bullock and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky by him with former singer and Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua and musicians, Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon, Bruce Marshall and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett (1946–2016).
Goodbye to the Machine is the fifth studio album from American band Hurt, released on April 7, 2009, on the independent Amusement record label. The album was released in both CD and vinyl format. On February 3, 2009, the song "Wars" was released for download as a single. Each CD and vinyl comes with a unique code to download "ultra-high-quality MP3s sampled directly from the analog 1/2" master tapes," as well as bonus tracks, including "Flowers", "Another Time" and "That – Jazz Club Mix".
The Return of The Marvelettes was marketed as the last album by the group, although in reality their last had been 1969's In Full Bloom. It was originally recorded to launch the solo career of former Marvelette Wanda Young, and was produced by Smokey Robinson.
The Spinners: Their Early Years is a compilation album featuring The Spinners and other various artist that were signed to the Tri-Phi Records/Harvey Records label(s) from 1961 to 1963. It contains the five singles that the group made while signed at Tri-Phi, and a few tracks where they sang backing vocals for other acts on both labels. The album also contains songs performed by various other acts that didn't make the transition to Motown.
The New Birth is the debut album by the American R&B and funk band New Birth. It was released on November 1, 1970 in North America by RCA and produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua, whose style of building a whole song around a simple phrase is represented by "The Unh Song", and his uncredited assistant Vernon Bullock.
Coming Together is the third album by American funk and R&B collective New Birth, released in March 1972 by RCA.
Birth Day is the fourth album by American funk and R&B collective New Birth, released in North America by RCA on December 12, 1972. The album was produced by Harvey Fuqua and was the record that put the group on the map. Consisting of the backing group The Nite-Liters, the vocalists Love, Peace & Happiness, Londee Loren (Wiggins), Bobby Downs, and Allen Frey. This would be the last album on which Ann Bogan would appear, as she succumbed to her mother's pressure to stop singing and raise her two children herself.
The Nite-Liters is the debut album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshoot of New Birth featuring Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon, Bruce Marshall and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett. Released in 1970 on RCA Records. Produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua.
Morning, Noon & the Nite-Liters is the second album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshoot of New Birth, featuring Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon, Bruce Marshall and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett.
"K-Jee" is a 1971 song by American soul and funk band The Nite-Liters. Written by Harvey Fuqua and Charlie Hearndon it charted in 1971 at No. 17 on the US Billboard R&B chart, and at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Instrumental Directions is the third album by Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshoot of New Birth, featuring Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon, Bruce Marshall, and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett.
Different Strokes is the fourth album by Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshoot of New Birth, featuring Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon.
A-Nal-Y-Sis is the fifth and final album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshoot of New Birth, featuring Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon and Carl McDaniel. Released in 1973 on RCA Records. Produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua.
Harvey Fuqua was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.