New Birth (band)
Encyclopedia
New Birth is an American
funk
and R&B
group, originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan
by former Motown songwriter/producer and veteran musician Vernon Bullock, and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky
by Vernon, with former Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua
, and music industry veterans, Tony Churchill, James Baker, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett. The group is most notable for the hits "I Can Understand It", "It's Been a Long Time", "Wildflower
" and "Dream Merchant
".
by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, and featured, in its heydey, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. (Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of arth, Wind & Fire] Also Waldo Weathers was on Baritone sax Later with (James Brown The God Father of Soul) when Austin stepped out for a time, but returned, and Jerry Bell as also a member at one time. Under this name the group had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper. In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company, and Harvey Fuqua
and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young and an individual known as "Slim," and a female vocal group, known as Mint Julip, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters and additional vocalist, Alan Frye and called the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA
. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Perry Como
's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan
called Love, Peace & Happiness which featured former Marvelettes
singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye. In 1972, the reorganized group (as a seventeen-piece ensemble) hit the R&B top ten with their cover of Bobby Womack
and The Valentinos
' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success. By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the sole female member. Due to a brief dispute with their management company, their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go
" featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes
member Susaye Greene
as lead vocalist.
In 1974, the group issued their hit album, It's Been a Long Time, which spawned the hits including the title track and their cover of the psychedelic
single "Wildflower
", which became a top ten hit in the UK singles chart. After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah
.
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler
classic, "Dream Merchant". After the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers split from the group following in-fighting and growing tensions in the group.
The group returned in 1979 James Baker, Tony Chruchill and Austin Lander introduce Jerry Bell as their new lead vocalist with Platinum City and in 1982 with the I'm Back album. Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne
in L.T.D.
Jerry Bell left the group in 1981 to become the lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band
.
The Wilsons toured with a new ensemble as New Birth in 1994, and released a few albums under the new name in the decade since. Drummer Robin Russell
released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004.
Since the group's initial split, their songs have been covered from the likes of Jamie Foxx
, who sampled their cover of "Wildflower" for his 2005 hit, "Unpredictable
". R&B group Something for the People sampled their "It's Been a Long Time" for their 1996 hit, "My Love is the Shhh". Rap artist Lil' Wayne sampled "You Don't Have to Be Alone" from their self-titled album in his song "La La", And again Jerry Bell's remake of "Its Been A Long Time." "You Are What I'm Talking About" was sampled for Junior Mafia's "Player's Anthem
."
Love, Peace & Happiness-
As New Birth
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group, originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
by former Motown songwriter/producer and veteran musician Vernon Bullock, and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
by Vernon, with former Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
, and music industry veterans, Tony Churchill, James Baker, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett. The group is most notable for the hits "I Can Understand It", "It's Been a Long Time", "Wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
" and "Dream Merchant
Dream Merchant
Dream Merchant is a R&B ballad written by Larry Weiss and Jerry Ross. The song was original recorded by Jerry Butler in 1967 as "Mr. Dream Merchant". The Jerry Butler version reached number twenty-three on the soul charts and number thirty-eight on the Hot 100.-Cover versions:*In 1975 the song...
".
History
The history of the group starts with the instrumental outfit, The Nite-Liters which had originally been formed in 1963 in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, and featured, in its heydey, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. (Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of arth, Wind & Fire] Also Waldo Weathers was on Baritone sax Later with (James Brown The God Father of Soul) when Austin stepped out for a time, but returned, and Jerry Bell as also a member at one time. Under this name the group had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper. In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company, and Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua, was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s...
and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young and an individual known as "Slim," and a female vocal group, known as Mint Julip, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters and additional vocalist, Alan Frye and called the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
called Love, Peace & Happiness which featured former Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye. In 1972, the reorganized group (as a seventeen-piece ensemble) hit the R&B top ten with their cover of Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
and The Valentinos
The Valentinos
The Valentinos , was a Cleveland, Ohio-based family R&B group, mainly famous for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack, the former brother finding bigger fame as a solo artist and the latter finding success as a member of the husband and wife team of Womack & Womack with...
' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success. By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the sole female member. Due to a brief dispute with their management company, their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go
Until It's Time for You to Go
"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was never released by her as a single, but was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965, and for Elvis Presley in 1972, and a US Hot 100...
" featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
member Susaye Greene
Susaye Greene
Susaye Greene , is an African-American singer, best known for being the last official member to join Motown girl group The Supremes, remaining in the group during its final years of existence from 1976 to 1977.-Early life and career:...
as lead vocalist.
In 1974, the group issued their hit album, It's Been a Long Time, which spawned the hits including the title track and their cover of the psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
single "Wildflower
Wildflower (Skylark song)
"Wildflower" is a song written by Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson in 1972. First performed by the Canadian band Skylark, it has been covered by many artists and more recently has been sampled in a number of hip hop songs.-Skylark recording:...
", which became a top ten hit in the UK singles chart. After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...
.
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
classic, "Dream Merchant". After the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers split from the group following in-fighting and growing tensions in the group.
The group returned in 1979 James Baker, Tony Chruchill and Austin Lander introduce Jerry Bell as their new lead vocalist with Platinum City and in 1982 with the I'm Back album. Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...
in L.T.D.
L.T.D.
L.T.D. is an American R&B/funk band best known for their 1977 hit single, " Back in Love Again," as well as their many ballads, such as "Love Ballad," "We Both Deserve Each Other's Love," and "Where Did We Go Wrong?."-Career:L.T.D...
Jerry Bell left the group in 1981 to become the lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band
Dazz Band
The Dazz Band is an American funk music band that was most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include the Grammy Award-winning "Let It Whip" , "Joystick" , and "Let It All Blow"...
.
The Wilsons toured with a new ensemble as New Birth in 1994, and released a few albums under the new name in the decade since. Drummer Robin Russell
Robin Russell
Robin Russell is an American drummer, songwriter, and recording artist from Los Angeles, California.- Career :As of September 1972, Russell is the original drummer with the rhythm and blues ensemble New Birth and their instrumental counterpart, the Nite-Liters...
released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004.
Since the group's initial split, their songs have been covered from the likes of Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
, who sampled their cover of "Wildflower" for his 2005 hit, "Unpredictable
Unpredictable (song)
"Unpredictable" is the title track from Jamie Foxx's second album, Unpredictable and was released as the first single from the album in 2005...
". R&B group Something for the People sampled their "It's Been a Long Time" for their 1996 hit, "My Love is the Shhh". Rap artist Lil' Wayne sampled "You Don't Have to Be Alone" from their self-titled album in his song "La La", And again Jerry Bell's remake of "Its Been A Long Time." "You Are What I'm Talking About" was sampled for Junior Mafia's "Player's Anthem
Player's Anthem
"Player's Anthem" was the first single released from the Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s debut album Conspiracy. The song which was produced by Clark Kent. It contains a sample of The New Birth's song "You Are What I'm Talking About"...
."
Discography
As The Nite-Liters- Nite-LitersNite-Liters (album)The Nite-Liters is the debut album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshot of New Birth. Released in 1970 on RCA Records...
(RCA RecordsRCA RecordsRCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, 1970) - Morning, Noon & the Nite-LitersMorning, Noon & the Nite-LitersReleased in 1971 on RCA Records. Produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua. Includes the original version of K-Jee that was covered in 1975 by MFSB on their Universal Love album.-Track listing:#Tange Boo Gonk 3:10 #If I Were Your Woman 5:50 #K-Jee 4:05...
(RCA, 1971) US #167, US Black Albums #31 - Instrumental DirectionsInstrumental Directions (Nite-Liters album)Instrumental Directions is the third album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshot of New Birth. Released in 1972 on RCA Records...
(RCA, 1972) US #198, US Black Albums #41 - Different StrokesDifferent Strokes (The Nite-Liters album)Different Strokes is the fourth album by the Louisville, Kentucky group The Nite-Liters, the instrumental ensemble offshot of New Birth. Released in 1972 on RCA Records...
(RCA, 1972) - A-Nal-Y-SisA-Nal-Y-Sis-Track listing:#Serenade For A Jive Turkey 4:52 #Anything Goes 2:44 #The Happy Hooker 4:19 #Craaaashing 2:23 #Damn 3:44 #Valdez In The Country 2:44 #Drumology 7:38 #Cowboy 4:46 #Excuse Me While I Do My Thing 3:56...
(RCA, 1973) US Black Albums #34
Love, Peace & Happiness-
- Love Is Stronger (RCA, 1971)
- Here 'Tis (RCA, 1972)
As New Birth
- The New BirthThe New Birth (album)The New Birth is the debut album by the Louisville, Kentucky group New Birth. Released in 1970 on RCA Records. Produced by mentor Harvey Fuqua.-Track listing:#What'll I Do 3:09 #UNH Song 3:12 #All The Way 3:13 #It's All In The Game 2:49...
(RCA, 1971) - Ain't No Big Thing, But It's GrowingAin't No Big Thing, But It's Growing-Track listing:#O-O-H Child 3:15 #I Want To Make It With You 2:53 #Never Can Say Goodbye 3:21 #How Good It Feels 3:35 #It's Impossible 3:50 #Honeybee 3:30 #Fire & Rain 4:23 #Oh What A Feeling 3:14 #Let It Be 3:47 -Charts:-Singles:...
(RCA, 1971) US #189, US Black Albums #50 - Comin' TogetherComing Together-Track listing:#Two Kinds Of People 3:09 #Oh, Baby, I Love The Way 3:59 #Yesterday I Heard The Rain 2:40 #African Cry 2:27 #I Don't Want To Do Wrong 5:57 #Don't Knock My Love 4:28 #If I Can't Have You 3:17 #All The Way 2:45 #Unh Song 3:10...
(RCA, 1972) US Black Albums #40 - Birth DayBirth DayThis was their break through album charting number one the R&B Charts. The first single, the Bobby Womack penned I Can Understand It peaked at number four on the R&B charts in early 1973...
(RCA, 1973) US #31, US Black Albums #1 - It's Been A Long Time (RCA, 1974) US #50, US Black Albums #7
- Comin' From All Ends (RCA, 1974) US #56, US Black Albums #20
- Blind Baby (Buddah RecordsBuddah RecordsBuddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...
, 1975) US #57, US Black Albums #17 - Love Potion (Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, 1976) US #168, US Black Albums #22 - Behold The Mighty Army (Warner Bros. Records, 1977) US #164, US Black Albums #28
- Disco (RCA, 1977)
- Reincarnation (RCA, 1977)
- Platinum City (Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, 1979) - I'm Back (1982)
- God's Children (PNEC Records, 1998)
- I Am Blessed (Trio Records, 2004)
- Lifetime (Orpheus Records, 2005)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pop Singles Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. Black Singles | ||
| 1971 | "It's Impossible" | 52 | 12 |
| "K-Jee K-Jee "K-Jee" is a 1971 song by American Soul/Funk Band The Nite-Liters. Written by Harvey Fuqua & Charlie Hearndon it charted in 1971 at 17 on the R&B Charts and 39 on the Pop. MFSB covered this song on their Universal Love album, charting number 2 on the Disco charts in 1975... " |
39 | 17 | |
| 1972 | "(We've Got to) Pull Together" | - | 27 |
| "Afro-Strut" | 49 | 24 | |
| "I Don't Want to Do Wrong" | - | 41 | |
| 1973 | "I Can Understand It" | 35 | 4 |
| "Until It's Time for You to Go Until It's Time for You to Go "Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was never released by her as a single, but was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965, and for Elvis Presley in 1972, and a US Hot 100... " |
97 | 21 | |
| 1974 | "I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal, Part I" | 88 | 46 |
| "It's Been a Long Time" | 66 | 9 | |
| "Wildflower Wildflower (Skylark song) "Wildflower" is a song written by Doug Edwards and Dave Richardson in 1972. First performed by the Canadian band Skylark, it has been covered by many artists and more recently has been sampled in a number of hip hop songs.-Skylark recording:... " |
45 | 17 | |
| 1975 | "Comin' From All Ends" | - | 76 |
| "Dream Merchant Dream Merchant Dream Merchant is a R&B ballad written by Larry Weiss and Jerry Ross. The song was original recorded by Jerry Butler in 1967 as "Mr. Dream Merchant". The Jerry Butler version reached number twenty-three on the soul charts and number thirty-eight on the Hot 100.-Cover versions:*In 1975 the song... " |
36 | 1 | |
| "Grandaddy (Part I)" | 95 | 28 | |
| 1976 | "The Long and Winding Road" | - | 91 |
External links
- New Birth's official website
- [ The Nite-Liters] at Allmusic.com
- [ New Birth] at Allmusic.com