Secret Combination (Randy Crawford Album)
''Secret Combination'' is an album by the American R&B singer Randy Crawford, released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 12 in the US ''Billboard'' Top R&B Albums chart in July 1981, and No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart in July 1981. The singles " You Might Need Somebody" and "Rainy Night in Georgia" reached No. 11 and No. 18, respectively, in the UK Singles Chart. Reception ''The Globe and Mail'' wrote that Crawford "manages to sing in every style from jazz to blues to middle-of-the-road to country, and makes it all sound wonderfully unique." AllMusic awarded the album with four stars and its review by Ron Wynn states: "Randy Crawford made even more noise on the urban contemporary and R&B front in 1981 with this album, one of her most successful ever from a chart and hit standpoint".Jurek, Thom AllMusic Review: ''Secret Combination''AllMusic, accessed 3 August 2018 In February 1982, Crawford won the award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1982 Brit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Randy Crawford
Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American retired jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has appeared on the Hot 100 singles chart twice. The first time was in 1979 as a guest vocalist on the Crusaders' top-40 hit " Street Life". She also dueted with Rick Springfield on the song "Taxi Dancing", which hit number 59 as the B-side of Springfield's hit "Bop Til You Drop". She has had five top-20 hits in the UK, including her 1980 number-two hit, " One Day I'll Fly Away", as well as six UK top-10 albums. Despite her American nationality, she won Best British Female Solo Artist in recognition of her popularity in the UK at the 1982 Brit Awards. In the late 2000s, she received her first two Grammy Award nominations. Career Crawford first performed at club gigs from Cincinnati to Saint-Tropez, but made her name in the mid-1970s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Tom Snow
Thomas Righter Snow (born 1947 in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American songwriter. Biography Snow has written songs for Gayle McCormick "( Even a Fool Would Let Go" with Kerry Chater – a song covered by a number of artists including Kenny Rogers and Joe Cocker). "Love Not War" (with Barbara Griffin), Olivia Newton-John (" Deeper Than the Night," " Make a Move on Me"), and Melissa Manchester ("You Should Hear How She Talks About You"), Cher, The Pointer Sisters' million-selling 1980 hit " He's So Shy" (with lyrics by Cynthia Weil), Barbra Streisand, Rita Coolidge (" You", which was also an Australian top 10 hit for Marcia Hines in 1977 and in 2005), Barry Manilow (" Somewhere Down the Road", a song which was performed on '' Ally McBeal''), Randy Crawford, Diana Ross (" Gettin' Ready for Love"), Bonnie Raitt (" Love Sneakin' Up On You"), Leo Sayer, Bette Midler, Michael Johnson ("I'll Always Love You"), Dolly Parton, Captain & Tennille, Kim Carnes (" Don't Call It L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Robben Ford
Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock music, rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets (band), Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Springfield, Little Feat, and Kiss (band), Kiss. He was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by ''Musician (magazine), Musician'' magazine. Early life Robben Ford was born in Woodlake, California, and raised in Ukiah, California. He began playing the saxophone at age 10 and the guitar at age 14. Robben and two of his brothers (Patrick and Mark) created the Charles Ford Blues Band in honor of and named after their father. A fourth brother died in the Vietnam conflict. Career At age 18, Ford's band was hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite, and recorded two albums ''The Charles Ford Band'' and ''Discovering the Blues''. He recorded two albums with Jimmy Witherspoon called ''Live'' and ''Sp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Lenny Castro
Lenny Castro (born September 19, 1956) is an American percussionist from the Los Angeles area. He is one of the most prolific percussionists of all time, appearing on hundreds of albums, including those by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Maroon 5, U2, Earth, Wind & Fire, and the Rolling Stones, among others. Early life Castro was born and raised in New York City to parents of Puerto Rican descent. His father, Hector Castro, was a keyboardist for Latin artists such as Johnny Pacheco. Castro attended the High School of Music & Art where he studied classical percussion. Career After graduating high school and playing in local bands around New York City, he was discovered by singer Melissa Manchester at age 19 and went on tour as her percussionist. Castro later moved to Los Angeles with Manchester where he was introduced to producer Richard Perry. Perry had him play for Diana Ross on her album '' Baby It's Me'' where Castro met session drummer Jeff Porcaro. Castro was then ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dean Parks
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. In 1980, he was a founding member of the Christian Jazz Fusion band Koinonia. Parks is best known for his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, and Bread. Notably, he played guitar on Steely Dan's '' Royal Scam'' track " Haitian Divorce". Parks is also a long-time collaborator on David Foster albums, such as ''Shadows'' by Gordon Lightfoot. Parks features on Cat Beach's albums ''Letting Go'' and ''Love Me Out Loud''. In 2008, Parks participated in the production of the album ''Psalngs'', the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre. Parks is very prominently featured on Viktor Krauss' album ''II'' (2007), where he plays a plethora of other stringed instruments in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Steve Lukather
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums '' Down Two Then Left'' (1977) and '' Middle Man'' (1980), and was a prominent contributor to Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'' (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, ''Bridges'', was released in June 2023. He has stated the reason he started playing guitar is because of George Harrison. Influenced by blues-rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album '' Katy Lied'' (1975). AllMusic characterized Porcaro as "arguably the most highly regarded studio drummer in rock from the mid-'70s to the early '90s" and said that "it is no exaggeration to say that the sound of mainstream pop/rock drumming in the 1980s was, to a large extent, the sound of Jeff Porcaro." He was posthumously inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1993. Early life Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was born on April 1, 1954, in Hartford, Connecticut, the eldest son of Los Angeles session percussionist Joe Porcaro (1930–2020) and his wife, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Abraham Laboriel
Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo Laboriel. Early life, family and education Laboriel was born in Mexico City. His brother was Mexican rock singer Johnny Laboriel, and his sister is Mexican singer, film and television actress Ella Laboriel. Their parents were Garifuna immigrants from Honduras. The family was devoutly Catholic. His father Juan José Laboriel started as a cab driver but in the 1920s became an integral part of the entertainment business in Mexico as a founding member of the actors', musicians', composers' and film workers' associations, eventually becoming involved in over 200 films in various capacities. Abraham received classical training as a guitarist, but he switch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Leon Pendarvis
Leroy Leon Pendarvis (born 1945) is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist. Early life The son of a first-grade primary school teacher, Pendarvis grew up in South Carolina. In addition to teaching, his mother was also pianist at their church. She also gave piano lessons to make extra money. The young Pendarvis graduated from climbing up on the bench to hit the keys to being taught by his mother. He also learned to play trumpet and saxophone. He also was a bass player when he came to New York. Personal life Pendarvis was previously married to Janice Gadsden, whom he had known since she was 13. They married some time after she left her parents place and moved in with her cousin Andrew Gadsden, who was Pendarvis's roommate. He was also previously married to former Los Jovenes del Barrio singer Jillian Armsbury, who died in January 2009 from mesothelioma. He married a woman named Josephine in 2018. Pendar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ralph MacDonald
Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer. His compositions include " Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the duet of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway; " Just the Two of Us", recorded by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.; and " Mister Magic" recorded by Grover Washington Jr. Career Growing up in Harlem, New York, United States, under the close mentorship of his Trinbagonian father, Patrick MacDonald (a calypsonian and bandleader originally from Trinidad and Tobago who used the stage name "Macbeth the Great"), MacDonald began showing his musical talent, particularly with the steelpan, and when he was 17 years old started playing pan for the Harry Belafonte show. He remained with the Belafonte band for a decade before deciding to strike out on his own. In 1967, together with Bill Eaton and William Salter, he formed Antisia Music Incorporated. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Leon Russell
Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa sound. His recordings earned six gold records and he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations. In 1973 ''Billboard'' named Russell the "Top Concert Attraction in the World." In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Russell collaborated with many notable artists and recorded 33 albums and 430 songs. He wrote "Delta Lady," recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker's '' Mad Dogs & Englishmen'' tour in 1970. His " A Song for You," which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song " This ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Franne Golde
Francine Golde, better known as Franne Golde or Frannie Golde, is an American songwriter, musician, singer and writer. She is Songwriter's Hall Of Fame nominee and her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records sold worldwide. Golde has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls " Stickwitu", Randy Travis's " A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' " Somebody's Out There Watching" from the ''Touched by an Angel'' soundtrack, Selena's " Dreaming of You", Heart's "Secret", Jody Watley's "Don't You Want Me" and " Nightshift" by the Commodores, which also won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group and received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. Most recently, Golde was nominated to The Songwriter's Hall Of Fame and Bruce Springsteen covered Nightshift on his Only The Strong Survive album. She started her own clothing line known for creating "The Original Magic Pant" in August 2016. Biography Early career Early in her career, Golde found ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |