The Voices of East Harlem

Last updated
The Voices of East Harlem
Origin East Harlem, New York City
Genres R&B, soul
Years active1969–1974
Labels Elektra, Just Sunshine
Past membersChuck Griffin (founder)
Anna Griffin (co-founder)
Bernice Cole (music director)
Gerri Griffin
Cynthia Sessions
Monica Burruss
Bernard Graham
Wayne Garfield
Jerome Mack
Elaine Clark
Kevin Griffin
Claudia Moore
Debra Raby

The Voices of East Harlem was an African-American vocal ensemble of up to 20 singers, aged between 12 and 21. Founded as a community initiative in 1969, the group performed with top soul and R&B musicians and recorded four albums in the early and mid-1970s.

Contents

History

The group originated in an inner city action project in East Harlem, New York City, in 1969. [1] Charles "Chuck" Griffin, founder of the East Harlem Federation Youth Association (EHFYA), and his wife Anna Quick Griffin, set up the ensemble, initially to perform in colleges and at local benefits. Their first major performance was at a benefit for Mayor John Lindsay, after which they attracted music director Bernice Cole (5 November 1921–19 November 2006), who had been a member of the Angelic Gospel Singers, to which she later returned. They also gained a manager, Jerry Brandt, who had previously worked with Sam Cooke and who persuaded the ensemble to update their material and style. [2]

In January 1970, they performed at the "Winter Festival for Peace" at Madison Square Garden on a bill with Harry Belafonte, Richie Havens, Judy Collins, Dave Brubeck, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Rascals, Jimi Hendrix (who abandoned his performance after two numbers), and the cast of Hair . [3] They made regular TV appearances, and recorded an album for Elektra Records, Right On Be Free, released in 1970. The album focused on ensemble singing in a traditional black gospel style, but with secular lyrics emphasising "the power of the people", and a "soulful feel". [1] Several of the tracks, including the title track "Right On, Be Free", were written by Chuck Griffin. Lead vocals on Right On Be Free were by Cole, Anna Griffin, Gerri Griffin, and Cynthia Sessions. The backing musicians included Richard Tee, Cornell Dupree, Chuck Rainey, and Ralph MacDonald, and the album was produced by David Rubinson. [4] The group received a standing ovation at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival in the UK, appeared at the Apollo Theater, and performed in Ghana in February 1971 at the Soul To Soul concert. [2] Reviewing the LP in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Producer-manager Jerry Brandt has done a pretty good job of recording this untransportable troupe of twenty or so black adolescents. Except for an unnecessary 'Proud Mary' and an embarrassing 'Let It Be Me' (a/k/a 'Let It Be Us'), it shouts and almost jumps, just like church, or a basketball tournament. Michael Jackson Award: Kevin Griffin on the 6:45-minute 'Shaker Life.'" [5]

In 1972 they released a second album on Elektra, Brothers and Sisters, with some tracks produced by Donny Hathaway. They also lent a track to the Free to Be... You and Me project produced by Marlo Thomas (where they were billed as Brothers and Sisters). Eighteen months later, the same track was filmed under their own name for the prime time ABC-TV special of the project.

Subsequently, they also performed in a concert at Sing Sing prison with B.B. King and Joan Baez. [6] which was filmed for a documentary. The following year they moved to the Just Sunshine label owned by promoter Michael Lang, and released a third album, The Voices of East Harlem, produced by Curtis Mayfield, Leroy Hutson, and Rich Tufo. [7] By this time, their lead vocalists were Gerri Griffin and Monica Burruss (later to be featured in various Barry Manilow tours. Other singers included Bernard Graham, Wayne Garfield, Jerome Mack, Elaine Clark, Cynthia Sessions, Kevin Griffin and Claudia Moore. [8] [9] The album yielded a minor hit single, "Giving Love" produced by Mayfield, which reached no.57 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1973. [10] The single "Wanted Dead or Alive" was later reissued as a 12" remix [8] and the group released its final album in 1974, Can You Feel It, produced by Hutson. [9]

Monica Burruss (aka Monica Pege) later recorded and performed as a session and backing singer before joining Lady Flash and as a solo performer known by Monica. [11]

Discography

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<i>Flood</i> (They Might Be Giants album) 1990 studio album by They Might Be Giants

Flood is the third studio album by Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in January 1990. Flood was the duo's first album on the major label Elektra Records. It generated three singles: "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul ", and the domestic promotional track "Twisting". The album is generally considered to be the band's definitive release, as it is their best-selling and most recognizable album. Despite minimal stylistic and instrumental differences from previous releases, Flood is distinguished by contributions from seasoned producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. John Linnell and John Flansburgh also took advantage of new equipment and recording techniques, including unconventional, home-recorded samples, which were programmed through Casio FZ-1 synthesizers. The album was recorded in New York City at Skyline Studios, which was better equipped than studios the band had worked in previously.

<i>Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow</i> 1970 studio album by Funkadelic

Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow is the second studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in July 1970 by Westbound Records.

Bill Withers American singer-songwriter and musician (1938-2020)

William Harrison Withers Jr. was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning fifteen years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me" (1972), "Lean on Me" (1972), "Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1981). Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Two of his songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

<i>Free to Be... You and Me</i> 1970s US childrens entertainment project

Free to Be... You and Me is a children's entertainment project, conceived, created and executive-produced by actress and author Marlo Thomas. Produced in collaboration with the Ms. Foundation for Women, it was a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, Roberta Flack, Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, and Diana Ross. An ABC television special, also created by Thomas, using poetry, songs, and sketches, followed two years later in March 1974. The basic concept was to encourage post-1960s gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one's identity. A major thematic message is that anyone—whether a boy or a girl—can achieve anything.

Ann Peebles American singer and songwriter

Ann Lee Peebles is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are "I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband Don Bryant and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller, and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down". In 2014, Ann Peebles was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

Kandi Burruss American television personality and musician

Kandi Lenice Burruss-Tucker, known professionally by her mononym Kandi, is an American producer, television personality, singer, businesswoman and actress. She first gained notice in 1992 as a member of the female vocal group Xscape. In 2000, she won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for her writing contributions on the TLC hit song "No Scrubs".

<i>Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid</i> 1994 studio album by Collective Soul

Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid is the debut studio album by the American rock band Collective Soul. It was originally released on an indie label in Atlanta called Rising Storm Records in 1993. The track "Shine" gained the band attention thanks to college radio. They later signed on with Atlantic Records and the album was released on CD in 1994 under the Atlantic label.

<i>Make It Last Forever</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Keith Sweat

Make It Last Forever is the debut album of American R&B recording artist Keith Sweat. It was recorded at INS Recording and Power Play Studios in New York City. Released on November 24, 1987, the album went to #1 on the Top R&B Albums chart for three weeks, and #15 on the Billboard 200. Make It Last Forever was one of the earliest R&B albums to showcase the up-and-coming new jack swing sound, as it was mostly produced by Sweat himself and music producer Teddy Riley.

Amos Leon Thomas Jr., known professionally as Leon Thomas, was an American jazz and blues vocalist, born in East St. Louis, Illinois, and known for his bellowing glottal-stop style of free jazz singing in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Melba Moore American singer and actress

Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith, known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.

David Hungate American musician

William David Hungate is a bass guitarist, producer, and arranger noted as a member of Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015. Along with most of his Toto bandmates, Hungate did sessions on a number of hit albums of the 1970s, including Boz Scaggs's Silk Degrees and Alice Cooper's From the Inside.

<i>Ill Give All My Love to You</i> 1990 studio album by Keith Sweat

I'll Give All My Love to You is the second studio album by the American R&B recording artist Keith Sweat. It was released on June 12, 1990, and went to number one on the Top R&B albums chart and number 6 on the Billboard 200. It spawned Sweat's second and third number 1 R&B hits: "Make You Sweat" and the title track, while "Merry Go Round" and "Your Love Part 2" were Top 5 R&B hits.

Shoes (American band) American power pop band

Shoes is an American rock band formed in Zion, Illinois in 1974. The group's musical style has often been described as "power pop" by critics and fans. The original members were brothers John and Jeff Murphy, Gary Klebe and Skip Meyer.

<i>Song X</i> 1986 studio album by Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman

Song X is a collaborative studio album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and saxophonist Ornette Coleman. It is a free jazz record that was produced in a three-day recording session in 1985. The album was released in June 1986 by Geffen Records.

Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions.

<i>Misterioso</i> (Thelonious Monk album) 1958 live album by Thelonious Monk Quartet

Misterioso is a 1958 live album by American jazz ensemble the Thelonious Monk Quartet. By the time of its recording, pianist and bandleader Thelonious Monk had overcome an extended period of career difficulties and achieved stardom with his residency at New York's Five Spot Café, beginning in 1957. He returned there the following year for a second stint with his quartet, featuring drummer Roy Haynes, bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, and tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin. Along with Thelonious in Action (1958), Misterioso captures portions of the ensemble's August 7 show at the venue.

<i>The Original Delaney & Bonnie & Friends</i> 1969 studio album by Delaney & Bonnie

The Original Delaney & Bonnie, also known by its subtitle Accept No Substitute, is the second studio album by American recording duo Delaney & Bonnie. It was recorded with many of the "friends" that would form the core of their best-known 1969–70 touring band, including Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Rita Coolidge.

Paul Griffin was an American pianist and session musician who recorded with hundreds of musicians from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Roger "Montego Joe" Sanders was an American jazz percussionist and drummer.

<i>Code Red</i> (Monica album) 2015 studio album by Monica

Code Red is the eighth studio album by American singer Monica. It was released on December 18, 2015, by RCA Records and coincided with the twentieth release anniversary of her debut album Miss Thang (1995). For the project, Monica reteamed with her cousin Polow da Don, who had co-executive produced her previous album New Life (2012). The pair enlisted a variation of producers and songwriters to work with her, including Danja, DJ HardWork, Fatboi, KEYZBABY, Pop & Oak, and Timbaland – in addition to longtime collaborators such as performers Missy Elliott and Akon, and songwriters Crystal Nicole and Johntá Austin.

References

  1. 1 2 Deb Cohen, Old Soul Part V: The Voices of East Harlem, 27 June 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  2. 1 2 Sheila Smith Hobson, "The Living Arts", St. Petersburg Times, 20 July 1971, p.9. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  3. ↑ Waterloo Daily Courier, "NY 'Peace Festival' Pays Bills", 29 January 1970, p.22. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  4. ↑ Right On Be Free at Discogs.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: V". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 21, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ↑ Opinears, The Voices of East Harlem - Right On, Be Free - Live at Sing Sing Prison - 11/22/1972. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  7. ↑ The Voices of East Harlem at Discogs.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  8. 1 2 Biography by Ron Wynn at Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  9. 1 2 Voices Of East Harlem at SoulWalking.co.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  10. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 463.
  11. ↑ Fleamarket Funk, "Monica – I Don’t Know Nothing Else To Tell You, But I Love You". Retrieved 29 November 2013
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.