I was having a talk with a buddy recently about the kind of music we missed.
He missed the self-contained funk groups like EW&F, Confunkshun and Cameo--as do I. And I missed the time when the R&B/Soul airwaves were filled with songs in which women sing like women, rather than teenage girls. As did he.
Which brings us to this very cool clip from "Soul Train" of the group Side Effect from 1976 singing "Always There," a remake of Ronnie Laws' hit from just a year earlier.
Side Effect's version is every bit as good as Laws', if not better: a brisk, funky bit of R&B with the tragically underrated Helen Lowe--who now better known as gospel singer Helen Baylor--positively owning the lead vocals. Side Effect should've had a longer time in the spotlight, but darn if they didn't make the most of the shine they did get.
Amazingly, their version of "Always There," only rose to Number 56 on the R&B charts. But it was a Number 2 dance hit, which likely earned them this spot on the Train. The song has since become a jazz/funk and neo-soul staple and has been remade by the likes of Incognito and more.
Almost 20 years have passed since singer Phyllis Hyman took that deadly overdose of phenobarbital and secobarbital in her New York apartment in the summer of 1995, silencing a voice that--when she was at the top of her game--was among the very best Soul/R&B had to offer.
It's a voice that's still missed.
Which brings us to today's offering from the Soul Closet: Hyman performing (well...lip synching) her early Arista records hit, "You Know How to Love Me" on the old Mike Douglas Show from late 1979 or early 1980.
She's 30 years old here, and four albums into her career she scores with one of her most popular and enduring hits. The late-disco tune was written by the formidable writer/producers James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. The duo would win a Grammy in 1980 for Stephanie Mills' "Never Knew Love Like This Before."
Back to Phyllis's performance. She's dressed as sober as a elementary school librarian, but is confident, sexy and beautiful. She fine. Afterwards, she takes a seat next to Douglas, joining actors Michael Douglas--with a ridiculous mustache--Yvette Mimieux and Robbie Benson.
"I wanted you on this show because I know you're gonna be..in 1980..someone that everybody's gonna be trying to get on their show," Mike Douglas tells her. And she's charming as all-get out as she gamely winds through commercial jingles she once sang--some of them were still airing at the time.
After the banter, Phyllis sings another song, the ballad "But I Love You."
Looking back on her career, you wonder if today's music industry could support a talent like Hyman--even she had doubts about her own career toward the end. Despite being one of the most enduring voices of her genre, Phyllis only had three top-10 R&B hits--"Living in Confusion," "When You Get Right Down to It" and "Don't Wanna Change the World"--and those came from one album, her 1991 joint, Prime of My Life.
But when you see the careers of Phyllis' fellow greats such as Chaka Khan and Patti Labelle enjoying successful second and third acts beginning in the late 1990s, you gotta believe the same thing was in store for her. She certainly deserved it.
