Brother to Brother was an American musical group fronted by Michael Burton who had three hits during the 1970s. They had a hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

with their version of Gil Scott-Heron's song " The Bottle".

Background

The ensemble was formed in 1974 by Michael Burton. Musicians in the group included Billy Jones, Frankie Prescott, and Yogi Horton. Besides " The Bottle", the group had hits with "Let Your Mind Be Free" and "Chance with You".

Career

It was reported by ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' in the magazine's 13 July issue that their single "

In the Bottle "The Bottle" is a song by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron and musician Brian Jackson, released in 1974 on Strata-East Records in the United States. It was later reissued during the mid-1980s on Champagne Records in the United Kingdom. "The ...

" was selling well and was beginning to have strong airplay. On the week of 28 September, having been in the ''

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart for ten weeks, the single reached no. 10. The following week it peaked at no. 9. It also debuted at no. 93 on the ''Billboard''

that week. There was also a full-page ad on page 57 that their ''In the Bottle'' album had been released on Turbo 7013. The group's album ''In the Bottle'' was reviewed in the 15 January 1975 issue of ''Walrus''. The reviewer said that the group murdered "

I Wish It Would Rain "I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield. The lyrics of this mournful song about a heartbroken man whose woman had just left him were pen ...

" but they established a grasp on modern r&b, and they led the way with the first and third tracks on both sides. It was also one of the hottest LPs in New York according to Jeff Teitelbaum. Also that week, ''Walrus'' noted that their song "In the Bottle was getting heavy airplay at KTYD in Santa Barbara, California. In February 1976 they had some chart success with "Let Your Mind Be Free" which remained in the charts for eight weeks. Later that year, they had more success with "Chance with You" which spent eleven weeks in the charts. They recorded their album ''Let Your Mind Be Free'' which was released on All Platinum 7015. It made it into the ''Cash Box'' Top 50 R&B albums chart. At week nine on 24 July 1976, it peaked at no. 33. They recorded an album ''Brother 2 Brother'' which was released on Sugar Hill Records H 259 in 1980.

Later years

Michael Burton wrote and produced the song "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

for

Lydia Murdock Lydia Murdock is an American singer who had at least two dance hits. Her best known one was "Superstar" which was a hit in the UK and Canada. She also charted in the UK with " Love on the Line". Background Lydia Murdock is an American pop singer ...

which was released in 1983. The song is an answer to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's hit "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...

". The singer takes the place of Billie Jean and tells her side of the story. It made it to no. 47 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 Black Contemporary Singles chart. It also charted in UK on the main chart, making it to no. 14 and charting for ten weeks during its run. And working with Gerry Gabinelli,

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli (born Eli Tatarsky; March 2, 1946 – August 17, 2023) was an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview Bobby ...

, and

Tony Bongiovi Anthony Carmine Bongiovi Jr. (born September 7, 1947) is an American record producer and recording engineer. He is the cousin of musician Jon Bon Jovi. Early life Anthony Carmine Bongiovi Jr. was born on September 7, 1947, in Raritan, New Jerse ...

, he also produced her other single " Love on the Line. It got to no. 55 on the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' UK Disco Top 85 chart, and no. 48 on the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' Top Disco & Dance chart.''Music Week'', September 15, 1984
Page 43 Music Week Disco ''and dance'' Top Singles, This Week 48, Last Week 49, Weeks on chart 2
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References

External links

* Discogs
Brother To Brother
* Lee Stewart channel, Aug 11, 2008
Brother To Brother - In The Bottle (audio)
* funkgetier channel
BROTHER TO BROTHER Let your mind be free
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brother to Brother American funk musical groups American soul musical groups American disco groups All Platinum artists Philips Records artists Sugar Hill Records artists Turbo Records artists Unidisc artists Win or Lose (record label) artists American musical groups