Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951) is an American soul/R&B singer, and the lead singer of

the Manhattans The Manhattans are an American R&B vocal group. Their songs " Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's " Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart, including tw ...

. Between late 1970 and 1988, the group had 25 top 40 R&B and 12 Hot 100 hit singles. Alston was lead singer on their most successful 1976 platinum song "

Kiss and Say Goodbye "Kiss and Say Goodbye" is a 1976 song by American R&B vocal group the Manhattans. It was written by group member Winfred Lovett, the bass singer and songwriter of the group, who did the song's spoken introduction. The song was recorded for the ...

", which topped the U.S. Pop and R&B charts and was number one in four countries. Alston left the group in 1988 to pursue a solo career and recorded five albums and ten singles, including the hit singles "Take Me Where You Want To", "Slow Motion" and "Getting Back into Love". He also recorded a remake of

Atlantic Starr Atlantic Starr is an American R&B band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits " Always", " Secret Lovers", "Circles", " Silver Shadow", and "Masterpiece". History Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York, with tr ...

's "Send for Me", most of which was for

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

Career

Early life

Alston was born on November 8, 1951, in Henderson, North Carolina to the Rev. J.B. Alston and Geraldine Harrelson. Alston is the nephew of Gospel singer Johnny Fields of The Blind Boys of Alabama. He grew up in the church where he learned his craft. Alston was just a teenager he formed a group called, the New Imperials who sang both secular and Gospel music. When the group would perform in churches they would change their name to the Gospel Jubilee.

The Manhattans

In 1970, The Manhattans members were, George "Smitty" Smith, Edward "Sonny" Bivins Jr., Winfred "Blue" Lovett, Kenny "Wally" Kelly, and Richard "Ricky" Taylor. Alston joined the Manhattans in 1970, shortly after the death of their former lead singer George Smith. As lead singer, Alston helped the group achieve their first Pop and R&B top ten singles that reached Gold and Platinum status for songs like "

", "There's No Me Without You" and their

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Winning song, " Shining Star". Alston with The Manhattans continued on through the 80's scoring a few more top 40 R&B hits, "Girl of My Dream" No. 30, "I'll Never Find Another (Find Another Like You)" No. 12, "Just One Moment Away" No. 19, "Honey, Honey" No. 25, "Crazy" No. 4, "You Send Me" No. 20 and some others. In 1986, R&B singer Regina Belle recorded a duet with Alston, entitled "Where Did We Go Wrong?", on The Manhattans album "Back to Basics". The single peaked at No. 46 on the R&B chart. Alston left the Manhattans in 1988 to pursue a solo career.

Solo career

After leaving the Manhattans, Alston released his debut solo album entitled, "Gerald Alston" in 1988 which spent 33 weeks on the Soul/R&B ''Billboard'' albums chart and peaking at No. 18 on March 4, 1989. The first single, "Take Me Where You Want To" became a top 10 R&B hit spending 18 weeks on the chart and peaking at No. 6. Two more singles were released from that album, "I Can't Tell You Why" No. 52 and "You Laid Your Love on Me" No. 41. On March 18, 1989, Alston appeared on season 18 episode 18 of the television series,

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

performing his hit single "Take Me Where You Want To" and "You Laid Your Love On Me. He also performed on March 9, 1991 season 20 episode 21. In 1990, Alston released his most successful solo album entitled, "Open Invitation" peaking at No. 14 on the Soul/R&B Billboard Album Chart after spending 33 weeks on the chart. The album produced his highest charting solo single, "Slow Motion" a top 10 Soul/R&B hit, that spent 21 weeks on the chart peaking at No. 3. Another top 10 single, "Getting Back into Love" peaked at No. 6 after spending 15 weeks on the chart. Between 1992 and 1995, Alston released 3 more albums and 5 more singles, with two peaking at No. 40 on the R&B chart.

The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston and Blue Lovett

In December 1990, Blue Lovett left The Manhattans due to health issues, followed by Kenny Kelly who left and returned to college to pursue his PhD. Bivins replaced the members and continued performing with his unit until he became ill in 2013. Bivins died on December 3, 2014, at age 78. By 1995, as Alston's solo career was winding down, he and original member Blue Lovett teamed up to form, The Manhattans Featuring Gerald Alston and Blue Lovett. New members David Tyson, the brother of

Ron Tyson The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

and Troy Mays were added to this unit.

Recent years

On February 5, 2014, Alston and Lovett were featured artists on the television series, Unsung the story of The Manhattans on TV One. Alston continued to perform with his unit, The Manhattans Featuring Gerald Alston and Blue Lovett until Lovett's death on December 9, 2014 at age 78. Alston's cousin Dwight Fields replaced Lovett in the line-up until his death on August 26, 2016. By 2015, Alston was the only surviving member of The Manhattans heyday lineup and tours under the name The Manhattans featuring Gerald Alston. Alston along with Tyson and Mays performed on the Soul Train Cruises in 2013, 2018 and 2020. As of 2020, Alston continues to tour the states and overseas as a solo artist and as The Manhattans Featuring Gerald Alston with Tyson and Mays.

Personal life

Alston resides in New Jersey with his wife Edna and son. Alston is the nephew of Shirley Alston Reeves, former lead singer of

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McF ...

. He is also a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity. He was initiated into the Alpha Kappa chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi in Spring of 1970.

Discography

Albums

Solo albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Gerald 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American male pop singers American soul singers Living people Singers from North Carolina 1951 births People from Henderson, North Carolina 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers