Vernon Darrell Burch (July 28, 1955 – September 21, 2022
) was an American
R&B/
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
singer and
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
.
Biography
In 1975, Burch signed to
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
, where he released his first album, ''I'll Be Your Sunshine''. Later, he moved to
and then
Chocolate City Records
Chocolate City Records was a record label subsidiary of Casablanca Records & Filmworks. It was started in 1975 by Cecil Holmes, Neil Bogart's partner at Casablanca. Its name was a reference to the album '' Chocolate City'' by The Parliaments ...
, which was distributed by
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...
and Filmworks. He later recorded for Spector.
Two of his singles, "Changes (Messin' with My Mind)" in 1975 and "Do It to Me" in 1981, made it into 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 ...
'' R&B top 20 chart. Burch's other singles include "Brighter Days", "Steppin' Out", "Love Is", "Never Can Find a Way (Hot Love)", "Once Again in My Life", "Get Up" and "Fun City".
His song "Get Up" was made famous by being sampled by the 1990s pop group
Deee-Lite
Deee-Lite was an American House music, house and Dance music, dance music group formed in New York City. The group's Single (music), single "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album, ''World Clique'' (19 ...
, with their biggest hit "Groove is in the Heart".
Burch died on September 21, 2022. His death was announced on Twitter two days later by former
Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...
member
Susaye Greene
Susaye Greene (born September 13, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter. She was the last official member to join the Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final year of existence from 1976 to 1977. She is a suc ...
. He was 67 years old.
Discography
Studio albums
*''I'll Be Your Sunshine'' (1975)
*''When I Get Back Home'' (1977)
*''Love-A-Thon'' (1978)
*''Get Up'' (1979)
*''Stepping Out'' (1980)
*''Playing Hard to Get'' (1982)
References
Sources
*
Allmusic entry
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, Vernon
1957 births
2022 deaths
American soul musicians
African-American male singers
Musicians from Washington, D.C.