|
NEW BIRTH
New Birth first came into being 30 years ago but the group is still performing today and many of their old recordings are held in very high regard by soul fans, especially those here in the
UK. They commenced their recording career at what can only be described as a hectic pace, having 12 albums and over 30 singles released in the first three years of their existence. This 'soul super-group' recorded
under three separate names in their early years, thereby proving to be a record collector's nightmare. Indeed their most successful British release was the instrumental 'K-Gee' released (in May 72) under the name,
the Nite-Liters.
It was actually Vernon Bullock who came up with the New Birth concept in 1968. He introduced the idea to Harvey Fuqua in early 1970, Vernon being Harvey's assistant at Motown at the time.
Harvey liked the concept and so the pair went to Louisville to start up a new production company and audition new talent. The idea was, that until they could establish themselves, they would record some acts
separately. But 'New Birth' would be used as the collective name for their signings. The acts they found were 'The Nite-Liters' (musicians/vocalists including an additional lead vocalist), 'The Gentlemen and I' (a
male act), 'The Mint Juleps' (a female act), and a brother/sister pairing 'Duet'. The idea was that this group of artists would perform together as a self contained show. The act which got the first hit record would
get top billing and the others would be the supporting acts. Initially the Nite-Liters would open the show, followed by The Mint Juleps, The Gentlemen and I and then Duet. To close the show, the finale,
all would reappear on stage at the same time with the lead singers from the male and female acts becoming the lead singers of 'New Birth'.
The nucleus of the group, when signed, was working as house band at a local club backing the likes of Phillip Mitchell, the Originals and Chuck Jackson. Harvey handled most of the main duties
with regard to the project, although Vernon did help out with production tasks. New Birth, beyond the original concept, was now an 8 member band (the Nite-Liters), the Now Sound (four men), The Mint Juleps (four
women), and one additional lead singer, Allen Frey. Thus the ensemble was formed, a deal was signed with RCA Records and in 1971 the LP 'New Birth' (LSP-4450) was released. The original line-up proved too large to
be economic and so the four female members were dispensed with. Apparently Harvey came to the realisation that the group needed something extra vocally and fortuitously just as he was about to start looking for the
right singers, an old friend approached him. Cleveland born Ann Bogan, who had earlier sung with Harvey and had then gone on to join the Marvelettes, came to him with an idea for a new group. She brokered the idea
of herself and two brothers, Melvin and Leslie Wilson, becoming a group. Melvin and Leslie, who had been born in Muskegon (Michigan), had gotten into gospel singing before they moved to Detroit. Harvey liked the
idea and named the trio Love, Peace and Happiness. They were also signed to RCA, again with Harvey acting as producer. The three-some were almost immediately incorporated into the New Birth live revue with Ann soon
becoming the show's featured vocalist. The outfit now consisted of 12 members, 9 of them ( the instrumentalists ) recording as the Nite-Liters and all 12, including Londee Loren and Bobby Downes recording as New
Birth. In this form the whole group recorded their second album, 'Ain't No Big Thing But It's Growing' (4526) in 1972. Love, Peace & Happiness were soon fully absorbed into the New Birth line-up and they were
also included on the recording of New Birth's third album 'Coming Together' (another 1972 release). In addition to these albums, a couple of Nite-Liters albums, 'Instrumental Directions' plus 'Different Strokes' and
the Love, Peace & Happiness album's 'Love Is Stronger' and 'Here Tis' (LSP-4721) were also released that year. Two self written songs were included on the later album, the Melvin Wilson composition 'You've
Chosen Me' and 'You Can't Cheat The Cheater', the main basics of the song being arrived at by Melvin and Ann with Leslie & Harvey helping finish it off. Melvin states that his most memorable recording session
was the one for the first Love, Peace & Happiness album as this was his first ever experience of recording. Most of the whole ensemble's recording work was undertaken in RCA's New York studios the exception
being Love Peace and Happiness' first album which was cut in Chicago.
Numerous singles were also released under the outfit's respective names, the first to chart, in July 71, being the Nite-Liters 'K-Gee' (RCA 0461). This made a peak position of No.17 R&B and No.39
Pop and was followed in September by The New Birth's 'It's Impossible' (0520 - a pop hit for Perry Como). The first single to chart under the Love, Peace & Happiness name was 'I Don't Want To Do Wrong' (0740 -
taken from the 'Here Tis' LP) in August 1972. By the end of 1972, under their various names, the ensemble had enjoyed six R&B singles chart entries. After the 'Coming Together' album, Ann Bogan quit the music
business as she had two children that her mother had been taking care of. She made the decision to come off the road to be with her children. Alan Frey, the only vocalist, in the Nite-Liters took her place. The full
group now recorded its fourth album 'Birth Day' (4797 - December 72). At this point, the group consisted of Melvin Wilson, Leslie Wilson, Londee Wiggins (Loren), Alan Frey, Tony Churchill, Austin Landers, Leroy
Taylor, Robert Jackson, Butch McDaniel, Robyn Russell, Bobby Downes, James Baker & Charlie Hearndon. This album included their version of the popular Bobby Womack song 'I Can Understand It' which featured Leslie
on lead vocals and the track was culled from the LP to be a single (0912). The 45 entered the chart in March 73 and rose to No.4 R&B as well as making the Pop Top 40. "I Can Understand It" was a song
they had started to perform on stage and it was recorded live in the studio just as if the band were playing another show. The song was captured to every ones complete satisfaction on the first take and so no
additional versions were even attempted. The success of the single, stimulated sales of the album and also prompted RCA to release both the single and album in the UK. Bobby Downes had contributed next to nothing to
the album and he soon left the group for personal reasons. The ensuing 12 strong New Birth line-up remained unchanged for the next four years.
In addition to recording outside writers compositions, members of the group also wrote their own songs and in addition to love songs, they tried their hands at "message songs" ala Curtis
Mayfield / Marvin Gaye, etc. One such song was 'Overlooked Generation', a song that Melvin, Leslie, and Ann wrote and recorded when they were Love, Peace and Happiness (actually Melvin and Anne wrote it, but because
Leslie was his brother, Melvin saw to it that he received joint writers credit along with Harvey.) This track, along with the song 'Don't Blame The Young Folks For The Drug Society' was cut by Love, Peace &
Happiness. 'Don't Blame The Young Folks (For The Drug Society)' was getting a lot of airplay until it was yanked off the radio for being too politically charged. The negative response to the song from some quarters
changed Melvin's style of writing forever and he dropped the theme of social issues from his composition songbook. Coincidently 'Overlooked Generation' has just been recorded by Harvey Fuqua himself and the track is
included on his recent Resurging Artist label CD release 'T.V.O.X. ( The Voice Of Experience )'.
The fifth New Birth album, 'It's Been A long Time' (0285), was released in November 73 and the title track, an extremely classy ballad sung by Leslie Wilson, became the groups next US
single (0185). By January 74 the single was climbing the R&B chart where it eventually reached the Top 10, selling almost as many copies as 'I Can Understand It' and remaining on the chart for 17 weeks. The
follow up single ( also from the LP ) was 'Wildflower' (0265), an earlier pop hit for Skylark. This again enjoyed great commercial success and although it only (!) made the Top 20 of the R&B chart, it performed
better than it's predecessor on the pop chart. The LP was again released in the UK and has, with the passage of time, come to be regarded as the group's strongest ever RCA released album. Regarding the theme of the
James Baker / Melvin Wilson written track, 'Pains Of Love', included on the LP, Melvin states it was written from personal experience... 'We had lovers and wives that we lost because of our love for music. We
were struggling to stay in the music business because we didn't have the backing / support that lots of other artists had (from their label / management), so we never knew when we would be home and we lost a lot of
loved ones because of it'... The Baker / Wilson team were to contribute numerous compositions that the group recorded. In the partnership, Melvin would develop the words & melody, whilst James worked on the music.
Harvey took all the credit for producing the group's efforts, as New Birth were signed to his Fuqua III production company. It was Fuqua III that had the deal with RCA, not New Birth
directly. The people at RCA wanted Leslie Wilson to be featured more as lead vocalist but Harvey resisted this, to help ensure that he kept tight control of the group. Even though Harvey got all the producers
credits, many of the songs they recorded were developed on the road. Songs would be tested out in live performance and improvements / stylistic elements incorporated. Thus the final version would be laid out long
before the group ever got into the studio with Harvey. Harvey always wanted Leslie to sound more "churchy" but Melvin and Leslie would sit down together before hand and plan the songs vocals note for note.
In the studio, Leslie would then generally stick to their version and not accept Harvey's suggested vocal changes ( much to his frustration ). In late 74 the group recorded their last LP for RCA, 'Coming From All
Ends' and yet again the title track was released as a 45 (10242) and made it onto the R&B singles chart. 1974 also saw the release of another Nite-Liters album, 'A-nal-y-sis', and tracks such as 'Serenade For A
Jive Turkey' were lifted from it for single release. With regard to live work, Leslie states .. 'a show with Barry White in New York at Madison Square Garden stands out. Even though Barry was backed by his full
orchestra, New Birth pulled out all the stops & still managed to put on an amazing show. It was a great show all the way around'...For Melvin, the most memorable performance put on by the group was on a bill
they shared with Earth, Wind & Fire. By all accounts they thrived on the competition provided by the other top acts of the period.
Even though the groups work for RCA had nominally all been produced by Harvey Fuqua, as numerous different lead vocalists had been featured on their releases, they had failed to establish
their own truly identifiable sound with the record buying public. The policy of recording a lot of non-original material had further complicated matters in this respect. They wanted to break with Harvey but this
also meant their departure from RCA. They got a new lawyer and manager, Joseph Porter, and he signed them to a deal with Buddah (the group's alternative names were also dropped at this time). They went into Sunwest
Recording Studios in Hollywood where Melvin & James acted as the session's producers. The rest of New Birth however also had some say and creative input. Their first single release for the label was the
self-written 'Granddaddy' (Buddah 464) and this made the R&B chart in April 1975, where it rose to No.28. This track, which really showcases Leslie's superb vocal talents, is an up tempo delight of the highest
calibre. Their LP 'Blind Baby' (4034) soon followed, as did a second single 'Dream Merchant' (470). The single rocketed up the R&B chart and soon reached the No.1 position, going on to become the group's biggest
seller. RCA cashed in on this success by putting out the compilation album 'The Best of New Birth'. The group appeared on numerous TV shows over the years, including two featured performances on 'Soul Train'.
Unfortunately their manager had failed to inform them that Buddah was in dire straits financially. They escaped the company by signing with Warner Bothers, but the financial terms of this deal ( they were later to
discover ) again left much to be desired.
In June 76 the outfit's 16th album 'Love Potion' ( Warner Brothers BS 2953) was issued. The album featured 7 tracks, 4 being written by the group's James Baker / Melvin Wilson teaming. This
pairing yet again also produced the tracks featured on the LP. The album as a whole wasn't a classic however once again Leslie's vocal prowess was fully illustrated on the mid tempo 'Fallin' in Love'. This track
also gained a single release (8256). The only other 45, taken from the LP, to chart was the groups version of the Beatles song 'The Long And Winding Road' (8217). Yet again, on this album, lead vocals were shared
out amongst the group's members. However on their next LP 'Behold The Mighty Army', released in 1977, this policy was changed as every track was to feature Leslie Wilson on lead vocals. Other changes also occurred,
Frank Wilson was employed as the project's producer and all 8 songs that made it onto the album were original compositions. This was the "group's" most consistent album, all it's tracks being of a high
standard. A variety of material was included, two of the tracks being deep soul ballads, two funk style numbers and three up tempo dance items. One of the dance tracks, 'Your Love Is In My Veins' is my all time
favourite recording by the "group". With my high opinion of the group's work on this album, it's most ironic that (as I have just learnt) Melvin and Leslie were the only New Birth members to actually
appear on it. Frank Wilson, along with the group's management, chose not to use the rest of the group's members but instead utilised Lakeside as the studio band for the session. Initially the management were only
going to use Leslie for the album, but when Frank saw how well Leslie sang when Melvin was also involved, Melvin was brought back to contribute on the session. New Birth was going through a lot of turmoil at the
time, lots of in-house fighting and backstabbing, plus arguments over their perceived mismanagement. Unfortunately for some of the members, they couldn't see past their jealousy and anger to work things out.
The other members of the group, hurt at being excluded from the recording process, fired the group's management and as a result of this, the management pulled the record. Even without any promotion, the single
'Deeper' (8422) made the R&B charts in September 77. This single was followed, in January 78, by 'The Mighty Army' (8499) and this also charted, going on to achieve a Top 50 placing. Melvin's comments on working
with Frank Wilson are.. 'Frank was amazing. He kept a very relaxed atmosphere. He was in total control of production and a pleasure to work with. He knows how to get product from the artist'... Although
certain members of the group ( Leslie, Melvin and James Baker for instance ) had always shouldered a higher proportion of the group's work / responsibilities, the outfit was a true democracy and all band members
were paid equally regardless of their input. In 1977, even though Melvin was the most creative entity in the line-up and his brother Leslie, their distinguishing vocalist, Melvin was voted out of the group. The
monetary & creative situation with respect to the 'Behold the Mighty Army' album was the main cause of the rift. Even so it seems a strange decision as Melvin had, up to that point, taken almost total
responsibility for the creative end of the group's music, both in the recording studio and on stage. With Melvin being voted out of the group, Leslie also left. Old member, Bobby Downes took the opportunity
presented by their departure and re-joined the band.
The group moved on and in 1979 were signed by Otis Smith ( later to run his own Beverly Glenn label ) to a recording deal with Ariola America. James Baker, in conjunction with various other group
members, wrote most of the material for and also produced the ensuing session. The album 'Platinum City' was issued and a single 'I Love You' (7760), featuring the femme lead vocals of Dawn Pree ( who had relaced
Londee Wiggins), made the charts in August. What happened to the group over the next couple of years I don't know but in 1981 Leslie Wilson turned up as lead vocalist with L.T.D. ( replacing Jeffrey Osbourne ) on
that group's A & M album 'Love Magic' (SP-4881). Even with the talented Michael Stokes acting as producer and arranger for the album, it's only really standout number was the Leslie Wilson co-written title
track. Even though 'Love Magic' was such a classy offering and found favour in many UK soul club's, I am informed the group never performed the song live. By 1983 L.T.D. had moved onto Montage Records where they
enjoyed the LP release 'For You' (MA 105). Leslie co-wrote a track included on the album ('Steppin Out') and again also sang lead on some of its tracks. Unfortunately the overall package wasn't strong enough
and it's sales failed to revive the group's career. New Birth themselves had been re-signed to RCA by 1982 and a single 'Kute Girls' (PD-13301) and album 'I'm Back' were released. Although 'Kute Girls' wasn't
anything special, a number of classy tracks were to be found on the album ( 'Second Hand Love', 'Hangin Out' ). However their new recordings failed to capture the public's imagination and so never made an impact on
the charts. Leslie quit L.T.D. in 1984 and he & Melvin tried to get back with the rest of New Birth but nothing ever got off the ground. Too many bridges had been burned and the group's name had a bad stigma
attached to it in industry circles. Leslie Wilson did some solo work a few years later and enjoyed an indie label single release in 1987. His 12" single on 1st Flight Records being a solo reworking of
'Wildflower', Leslie isn't over enthusiastic about the release now though.
More recently he reformed New Birth and the group are back performing live in the States and cutting new tracks in the studio. Their line-up has slimmed down since their commercial heyday in the 70's,
today the group is based around just Leslie & Melvin. However with Leslie back on lead vocal duties, I can't imagine they would put on anything but a spectacular live show. A CD, 'Best Of The New Birth - Wild
Flowers', featuring 10 of their 1970's tracks was released in the US by BMG in 1998 and also in 1998 the 'God's Children' CD featured songs from their 'Love Potion' album. Hopefully some of their more recent
recordings will also get to enjoy a release in the not too distant future.
J.R.Smith -- August 2000.
|
|
