(February 3, 2018) How a song that was never a hit when it was written in 1978 can end up with no less than four versions recorded and three released between 2017 and now is the stuff of music biz mythology.
Released yesterday via UK label SoulMusic Records worldwide is 22-year old Atlanta-based musician Dontavius Turner’s soulful smooth jazz reading of “Ain’t Nothing (Like The Love),” a tune co-written by SoulMusic.com and SoulMusic Records’ founder, David Nathan. Turner’s version includes vocals by the late Phillip Ballou, one of the other co-writers, best known for his work as one of Luther Vandross’ premier background and session vocalists.
(February 3, 2018) How a song that was never a hit when it was written in 1978 can end up with no less than four versions recorded and three released between 2017 and now is the stuff of music biz mythology.
Released yesterday via UK label SoulMusic Records worldwide is 22-year old Atlanta-based musician Dontavius Turner’s soulful smooth jazz reading of “Ain’t Nothing (Like The Love),” a tune co-written by SoulMusic.com and SoulMusic Records’ founder, David Nathan. Turner’s version includes vocals by the late Phillip Ballou, one of the other co-writers, best known for his work as one of Luther Vandross’ premier background and session vocalists.
“The song was written for Phillip’s solo demo,” explains Nathan. “John Simmons, the third writer (and later musical director for Whitney Houston) cut a version in 1981 which became a rare groove classic in the UK and resulted in a number of YouTube videos.” French DJ Waxist Julien Minarro asked Nathan about the rights to Simmons’ recording but to no avail; however after hearing Nathan’s own 1980 version, he arranged for its license for the 2017 Favorite Records LP, Message In Our Music.
Enter Canadian DJ/producer Pomo, who decided to cover the song for a Sound Cloud-only version (as “Ain’t Nothing”) in 2017. When Dontavius Turner heard it, he made a video of it, overdubbing jazz guitar and when Nathan saw the clip, he contacted Turner. “I was blown away by what Dontavius had done with our little song! I immediately thought of George Benson, 1976! Dontavius agreed to cut it using Phillip Ballou’s original version and he’s done an amazing job.” Ballou’s full version was also released in 2017 in the UK as a vinyl only-limited edition by SuperDiscoEdits, making a total of three releases within the span of six months for a song that lay buried for decades. “I guess the moral of the story: a good song never dies!” concludes Nathan.
Check out the newest version of this gem from the vault. It is our newest SoulTracks First Listen.
Dontavius Turner – “Ain’t Nothing (Like The Love)”