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From what I understand, you met Quincy Jones while you were there?
< To leave comments on this article, please return to page 1
From what I understand, you met Quincy Jones while you were there?
Yes, within the first few months! I met him at a restaurant called Sapphire, owned by Danny Sims. They stayed open kind of late. People in the entertainment industry would come by to have a bite to eat. I was there with my roommate having dinner when Danny came over and said, "There's somebody you should meet who has a big band. He's an up-and-comer." That was Quincy. We exchanged numbers. I saw him again when he invited me to see his show at Basin Street East. People like Ella Fitzgerald and Andy Williams performed there. From that point on, he invited me up to sing. In the meantime, I had recorded an album with the Impulse! label.
How did you land that deal?
My first agent was Sid Bernstein of General Artists Corporation (GAC) in the early '60s. He brought the Beatles over to the U.S. When he signed me, he said, "You're doing these little clubs, you need to get on a record label." So, he got me an audition with ABC-Paramount. They signed me. I did one single, "Slightly out of Tune," based on the instrumental hit by Stan Getz, and they put lyrics to it. The B-side was called "He Who Laughs Last," a Carole King song from her early days. Nothing really happened with the single. So, they decided since I seemed to be more of a jazz artist, to put me on their jazz subsidiary (Impulse!). That's when I recorded After the Lights Go Down and Much More!!! Side A featured big band material, and side B was done with a trio. We had a lot of famous musicians on that session. I did a few original tunes. I was performing standards at that time like "I Cried for You."
What kind of public response did the album get?
It was okay, but not a hit. Otherwise, I would have done another album for them. But it got me more recognition as a performer. I think that's what got Quincy to call me and ask me to work with him at the Apollo along with Redd Foxx and Billy Eckstine.
Having done so much live performance, what was the recording studio experience like for you?
I knew what to expect. In New York, we recorded in a big studio owned by RCA. It was stressful because I was nervous—my first record was on a major label which Ray Charles was signed to! So, I thought I was doing good!
Your follow-up album, How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore, found you tackling different types of material, such as songs by the Beatles and the Righteous Brothers. Was that a reflection of your personal tastes at the time?
Yes. I loved the material. Benny Golson, the famous sax player, did the orchestration, and Thomas Wilson was the producer. Clarence Avant was my manager then. He secured the MGM deal for me.
A few years would pass before your big breakout with the legendary team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and their Invictus label. Throughout those years that you spent in New York, did you feel that no matter what, performing would be what you would do for life? DId you ever have any doubts or work in any other fields?
That's an interesting question. When I was on MGM, I was also doing Vegas, playing with Lionel Hampton's band. I was performing with the Smothers Brothers in Lake Tahoe and Reno. I was trying to fashion myself after Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll. I wanted to do the classy thing. I never did the chitlin' circuit. I was always doing supper clubs. That's how I rolled back then. After the record on MGM, I eventually auditioned for a Broadway musical, Hallelujah, Baby, to be the understudyfor Leslie Uggams. I was the only understudy to go on—and five times! She had two others who never got to go on. After the show closed in 1968, I signed with Invictus.
Tell me about your collaboration with Holland-Dozier-Holland. Was the musical direction spearheaded solely by them, or had you decided to go for a more soulful sound?
I made up my mind, after being in Hallelujah, Baby and having worked all of these different supper clubs, that I wasn't getting anwhere. I wanted to get a hit. I said, "Maybe I need to go and sing some R&B!" I was willing to give up my style and lend myself to the direction of the producers. So, that's what I did.
Was it a difficult transition to make?
To me, it was another avenue. Like when you go to school to learn something, I was going to school to learn how to sing the way that they wanted me to sing. I wasn't going there to put my jazz inflections into the song. If they said, "Don't do bravado here," or, "Breathe here, do a shout there," that's what I did.
You had an impressive string of hits with them—"Band of Gold," "Bring the Boys Home," and "Deeper and Deeper," to name a few. I'm sure that you have a lot of memories of working with them. Does anything in particular stand out in your mind about that time?
I was very proud of them. I knew them all before they became songwriters and producers. I went to school with Lamont and Brian. I met Eddie via Berry Gordy when I was 14. He had just written a song called "Merry Go Round." Berry had him stand up in the middle of my living room and sing it for me. So, it was like going home and dealing with people whom I felt comfortable with. I knew they had become famous producers for Motown; they had just left and formed their own label. I knew that I was in capable hands, and that if I was ever gonna have a hit, I was gonna have it with them.
What about "Band of Gold" do you think made it such a staple at the time—and for generations since?
I'm often surprised that the song has withstood the test of time, and that people are still crazy about it! At the same time, I realize that there's some music that touches a person's heart in a certain way for whatever reason. I have songs that I like from the past that touch me in a certain way. I appreciate and respect it.
Were you pleased with the overall success that you had during your time at Invictus?
Absolutely. I got two gold records with them. "Band of Gold" was nominated for a Grammy, Best Female R&B Vocalist. And the album Contact was nominated as well.
Like many legendary artists, you're well aware of both the ups and downs in the industry. You recorded for ABC and Capitol Records shortly after your time with Invictus. Although some fan favorites came out of this time period, you didn't have as much commercial success with those labels. Were you still enjoying the process? Did you get to oversee the direction of your material at this point?
I had a little say, but the producers and A&R had the majority of the say. When I did the Payne and Pleasure LP, the producer was stated as McKinley Jackson; but it was really Lamont Dozier. He was in a legal situation and couldn't even use his name on some of the songs that he wrote for the album. Bob Monaco, who'd worked with Rufus, produced my second ABC album, Out of Payne Comes Love. I enjoyed that. As for the disco material, I liked it. But at that time, disco was the music of the day. Capitol fell into the trend of what was happening. Sometimes it's not so smart to copy the trend—it's better to stick to your own style. The stuff that made you.
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