New Birth (also known as The 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).
The group began with the instrumental outfit The Nite-Liters, which was formed in 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua.[1] In its heyday, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, the band featured Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of Earth, Wind & Fire, and Jerry Bell on lead and background vocals. Some sources identify The Nite-Liters as the band that played as The Crawlers with Chicago artist Alvin Cash on his R&B No. 1 1964 hit, "Twine Time".
The Nite-Liters had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper, including "K-Jee" (No. 17 R&B & No. 39 Pop), in 1971.[1] In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company and Harvey Fuqua and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young (deceased 2018) and George "Slim" House and also a female vocal group, known as Mint Julep, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters plus additional vocalist Alan Frye, calling the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Armando Manzanero's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan called Love, Peace & Happiness, which featured former Marvelettes singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye.
In 1972, the reorganized group (as a 17-piece ensemble) reached the Billboard R&B top 10 (No. 4 R&B & No. 35 Pop)[2] with their cover of Bobby Womack and The Valentinos' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success.[3] By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann had left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the only female member. When Fuqua reportedly could not get the performance he wanted out of Londee on their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go", it featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes member Susaye Greene as lead vocalist, with Fuqua and Carolyn Willis of Honey Cone doing the spoken intro. However, Londee more than met the challenge in live performances and her voice matured on future releases.
In 1974, the group issued their album It's Been a Long Time, which featured hits including the title track (No. 9 R&B)[2] and their cover of the Skylark song "Wildflower". After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah.[4]
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler classic "Dream Merchant".[4] By this time, the Nite-Liters had so merged with the New Birth that the instrumental cut that opened the album was solely credited to New Birth. A move to Warner Bros. Records produced several minor hits and the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers left following disagreements in the group.
The group including Baker, Churchill and Lander returned on Ariola in 1979 with Jerry Bell as their lead vocalist. By 1982 with the I'm Back album, Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne in L.T.D., whilst Jerry Bell departed in 1983 to become lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band.
The Wilsons resumed touring with a new quartet ensemble adding two new female vocalists: Barbara Wilson and Danette Williams in 1994, and released an album. Drummer Robin Russell released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004.
James Baker died on October 24, 1993,[5] and Leroy Taylor died on January 17, 2012.[6] Robin Russell died in 2021. Melvin Wilson died on March 31, 2023, from pancreatic cancer.
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Related Research Articles
The Moonglows were an American R&B group in the 1950s. Their song "Sincerely" went to number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 20 on the Billboard Juke Box chart.
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023.
"Someday We'll Be Together" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Jackey Beavers, and Harvey Fuqua. It was the last of twelve American number-one pop singles for Diana Ross & the Supremes on the Motown label. Although it was released as the final Supremes song featuring Diana Ross, who left the group for a solo career in January 1970, it was recorded as Ross' first solo single and Supremes members Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong do not sing on the recording. Both appear on the B-side, "He's My Sunny Boy".
The Contours are an American rhythm and blues vocal group.that recorded for Motown Records .They are known their 1962 smash hit single "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988.
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.
Dynamite is the third and last collaborative album between labelmates The Supremes and The Four Tops, released on the Motown label in 1971. In the US, Dynamite peaked at the lower hundreds of the Billboard Top 200. The album fared better on the Billboard R&B charts, peaking at 21. It includes several covers of previous hits and a few Motown originals.
Robin Russell was an American drummer, songwriter, and recording artist from Los Angeles, California.
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.
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.
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 instrumental 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. The song gained some notoriety again when it was included on the successful Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977, from the eponymous film.
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.
Autry DeWalt Mixon Jr., known professionally as Junior Walker, was an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who recorded for Motown during the 1960s. He also performed as a session and live-performing saxophonist with the band Foreigner during the 1980s.
Harvey Fuqua was an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
