'Heaven Sent' by Stanley Clarke first appeared on his 1984 album ‘Time Exposure’ and is notable not only for the old school vibe on which it flows but also for stellar performances from former Shalamar front man Howard Hewett and Clarke’s long time collaborator George Duke.
Thanks again to the legendary Chris Boyce and his Love Your Soul project for this one, the seminal ‘Back Together Again’ from the album ‘Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway’.
Released in 1980 it was intended to be Roberta’s second duets album with Donny Hathaway but in the event Hathaway only recorded two songs with her, this one and ‘You Are My Heaven’ before his suicide. Flack finished the rest of the record on her own.
I am indebted to my good friend Chris Boyce and his wonderful Love Your Soul project for this stunning 1981 track from the always-excellent Change. It can be found on the album ‘Miracles’ and is guaranteed to rejuvenate even the most tired of dancing feet.
It might be a track from Curt Jones’ 2015 album, ‘Curt III’, but ‘Can’t Stop’ has some shimmering old skool soul credentials. Complete with an understated ‘steppers’ beat this one is a real gem.
Old School Cool is an occasional feature that, for those of a certain age, retraces the journey of musical lifetime in a way that keeps the memories flooding back. This time it is the Barbara Acklin hit song ‘Am I The Same Girl’, the Record and Sanders composition that was originally recorded by Young Holt Unlimited.
Old School Cool is an occasional feature that, for those of a certain age, retraces the journey of musical lifetime in a way that keeps the memories flooding back. This time it is the Shalamar blockbuster ‘This Is For The Lover In You’ that was composed by the band’s then lead vocalist Howard Hewitt and songwriter Dana Myers.
It featured on the 1980 album ‘Three For Love’ and was later remade by Babyface for the CD ‘The Day’ featuring LL CoolJ and the former members of Shalimar: Howard Hewitt, Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel. The Babyface version was a successful hit, reaching #6 on the US Hot 100, #2 on the US R & B chart, and #12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Old School Cool is an occasional feature that, for those of a certain age, retraces the journey of musical lifetime in a way that keeps the memories flooding back. This time it is Darrell Banks with the timeless ‘Open The Door To Your Heart’, a cover version of which I discovered in 1966 on the Chris Farlowe album ‘The Art Of Chris Farlowe’. It set me off to search for the original and have been hooked on it ever since.