Randy Brown (1952 – March 3, 2025) was an American
R&B singer.
Early life and career
Born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, Brown started as a singer of doo-wop and in his local church. He became a solo singer after recording with Memphis group,
The Newcomers, who had the R&B hit "Pin The Tail On The Donkey" in 1971, on
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records.
...
. In 1973, Brown left The Newcomers and recorded his first single "Did You Hear Yourself" on Stax Records. After several unsuccessful singles on a Stax subsidiary label, in 1975 he recorded "You Can Be Cured" and "Take a Few More Steps" on Mainstream Records, which he left one year later. Brown was persuaded to return to the studio by writer/producer Carl Hampton in 1978.
After receiving a call from Hampton, with whom he had been at school, Brown recorded four tracks that were given to
Russ Regan
Russ Regan (born Harold Rustigian; October 15, 1928 in Sanger, California – May 27, 2018 in Palm Springs, California) was an American record executive who was President of both Uni Records, UNI Records and 20th Century Records and was vice-pre ...
at Parachute Records. One of the songs, "I'd Rather Hurt Myself," left Regan impressed and the song was then recorded. The song was well received by the public and then Brown recorded additional tracks, thus completing the album ''Welcome To My Room'', which was released in 1978.
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"I'd Rather Hurt Myself" was well known in Brazil as "The Hang glider song", because of the scenes where it was played in the background, in the soap opera ''Pai Herói'', in 1979. Brown had another success in 1980, "We Ought To Be Doin 'It," which reached No. 16 on the R&B chart in the United States.
Hampton produced and wrote all of the material on Brown's debut album with Homer Banks, another long-time Memphis producer/musician. Brown recorded four albums for Casablanca Records' subsidiaries, Parachute and Chocolate City, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, often performing songs penned and produced by Homer Banks
Homer Banks (August 2, 1941 – April 3, 2003) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. Although best known by many for his songwriting for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s, some of his own releases from the 1960s are considere ...
, now working with writer/guitarist, Chuck Brooks. At one point, Brown was also a short-term member of The Temprees.
Brown's brother was William Brown, who was a member of The Mad Lads
The Mad Lads were an American rhythm and blues vocal group, who recorded on the Stax subsidiary label Volt in the 1960s. Their biggest hits were "Don't Have to Shop Around" (1965) and "I Want Someone" (1966).
Career
The group was formed at Bo ...
group and also a studio recording engineer, especially at Stax Records. He produced several tracks for his brother on Truth, which were later released in 1981 on an album on the re-activated Stax Records, following the takeover by Fantasy Records.
Personal life and death
Randy Brown lived in his hometown, Memphis and came out of retirement to perform at London’s Jazz Cafe in December 2019. On March 3, 2025, it was announced that Brown had died at the age of 72.
Discography
Albums
*''Welcome to My Room'' (1978) U.S. R&B #48
Singles
*"I Wanna Make Love To You" (1978) U.S. R&B #22
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Randy
1952 births
2025 deaths
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers
Singers from Memphis, Tennessee
American rhythm and blues singers
Casablanca Records artists