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| Barbara Pennington |
| And yet another reason to love Chicago....birthplace of Barbara Pennington. Chicago has always been a hotbed of musical talent, not only in the pop/soul and rock worlds, but in disco as well. Think Chicago and you instantly know Evelyn Thomas, James Wells, Peter Brown, Loleatta Holloway and of course Barbara Pennington. Barbara's "Midnight Ride" to international fame was a long road that started on Chicago's southside in Bronzeville.
The catalyst for Pennington was England's Ian Levine. Levine was a Motown/soul junkie from an early age. As a youngster he was infused with a love for American soul music. His well to do parents often vacationed in the States where young Ian would spend his time scouring every hole in the wall record store searching for every obscure Northern Soul single he could find. On one such trip he brought back over 4,000 singles alone! On one of his later treks to the U.S. he came armed with a production budget to form Voltafine Productions, which he partnered with the help of Chicagoan Danny Ray Leake. Levine persuaded his generous father to bankroll the project, the goal of which was to make soul music. Guitarist Danny Ray Leake was a Chicago recording studio mainstay in the 60's and 70's. An in-demand session player while still in his teens, Leake can be heard on numerous records that date from those times. Leake eventually expanded his talents by becoming a much sought-after live sound and studio recording engineer. Leake's exhaustive discography includes Chicago soul favorites Tyrone Davis, the Chi-Lites, and other acts produced by Carl Davis on Brunswick Records as well as vocal group Heaven and Earth. Recording out of Chicago, the two recruited and developed local talent and in the process created some of the most crafted, infectious, and long-lived disco music released from that genre's heyday. Levine and Leake's productions weren't of the "shake your moneymaker" variety, but instead included songs with strong melodies and emotionally layered lyrics, surrounded by the highly inventive arrangements of Fiachra Trench, full orchestras, top session musicians, and sophisticated sound engineering. The fall of 1975 found Levine in Chicago scouting for talent; with the help of arranger/producer Paul Wilson, the Brit uncovered Barbara Pennington. The same trip also found Evelyn Thomas (see her bio on the DiscoMuseum) and L.J. Johnson. To Pennington, this was her big break; she had sung around Chicago for some time but nothing had happened to advance her career — despite Chicago's large recording industry — until Levine came along, thus, she jumped at the chance. Voltafine got Pennington's tracks assigned to Island Records and the first 45 single was 1975's "Running In Another Direction." Soul/disco music was new territory for Island in the mid-1970's, plus they had little experience promoting singles, being more experienced selling albums. Thus, the single, released in England, couldn't be found in record shops, despite the fact that a demand had been created by Voltafine Productions via radio stations and club promotions. The lack of airplay accounted for "Running" selling only 5,000 copies. Still, Voltafine arranged a tour of England for Pennington and Levine's other Chicago discoveries, Evelyn Thomas and L.J. Johnson. Thomas' and Johnson's tracks had been placed with 20th Century and Phonogram, respectively, and were selling well in England due to better promotion. Pennington was the small fish among the three, and Island Records didn't exactly greet her with open arms; in fact, they ignored her and offered no tour support nor promotion. Undaunted after the moderately successful tour, Levine scheduled more recording and releases for Pennington: the stomping "I Can't Keep My Heart Still," the disco-sounding "Twenty-Four Hours a Day," and "You Are The Music Within Me." Once again, Paul Wilson did the arrangement, and Levine and Leake handled production, but this time the orchestra was larger, and the tracks had a fuller sound. Voltafine was now thinking of the States as a market for their product. The tracks were laid in Chicago at the Chicago Recording Company (now defunct). The whole ordeal fascinated Pennington, who, since meeting Levine, had flown to England, performed in clubs, and was living the life of a recording artist. |
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| Fed up with Island's lack of interest, Levine repurchased Pennington's contract in late 1976 and signed her with United Artists Records. In April 1978, Pennington's "Midnight Ride" was released by U. A. Records. The LP wasn't like the disco albums of the era; "Midnight Ride" had substance and variety. The album included her two most sought-after songs, "Twenty-Four Hours A Day" and "You Are The Music Within Me," both originally released on United Artists Records around 1977. The 12" extended mixes, particularly "Twenty-Four," are high on collectors' lists. The album included the ballad "I Can't Help Feeling Guilty" which has a slight resemblance to Marlena Shaw's "Go Away Little Boy" and the catchy mid-tempo "All-Time Loser" which has a bubbling percussion breakdown with bongos before sliding into a soft-samba interlude and returning back to the main part of the song. Not a typical, pop/disco music. |
| Between 1978 and the early 1980's Levine focused on DJ-ing and only dabbled lightly with recording, writing and producing. His sole success of that period was his work with Evelyn Thomas. While his stable of artists that he worked with was bountiful, Barbara's career was limited to when Levine chose to record with her. She appeared on L.J. Johnson's 1979 release "L.J.'s Love Suite" performing background vocals, most notably on his cover of "Twenty-Four Hours A Day."
By the early 1980's disco had suffered it's backlash and Levine saw a void in the club music scene. He started out with Nightmare Records, eventually moved his stable to Record Shack Records and did an off-shoot with Motorcity Records all the while dominating the 1980's club music scene. |
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| When Ian jump started his recording machine Barbara was put into motion and the 12" singles started coming. "There Are Brighter Days" and "Way Down Deep In My Soul" recevied little if any club play. But Ian and Barbara always had faith in each other and persevered. It paid off in 1984 when she had first club hit in over seven years. "All American Boy" struck a chord within the hi-energy gay community. 1985 brought the hits: "Fan The Flame" and "On A Crowded Street" which elevated her stature in the gay dance music community, particularly in England. That same year saw the release of her sophmore album "Out Of The Darkest Night." A delicious offering of her previous 12" singles and non-disco tracks. Vocally, Pennington's clear and strong yet sultry style makes each entry user-friendly and enticing. On more than a few occasions, her tone bears remarkable resemblance to cohort Evelyn Thomas. |
| The album also contains Barbara's version of "Vanity" a song that would find greater success with Carol Jiani. Ian, like Phil Spector, would often find a track and record it with several of his artists. Another example is "Turning My Back And Walking Away" which he originally gave to Barbara Randolph, before once again, recording Carol Jiani 's version. Was Carol his hand-me-down artist?
A handful of 12" singles followed this, her last album. Most notable was 1986's "Don't Stop The World." Barbara who was never a major player on the disco scene, unlike Thomas who gained worldwide stardom, returned to singing backgrounds and doing club spots. Her last known appearance of note was as a backing vocalist on blues guitarist Mark May's 1997 release "Telephone Road." We're glad to give fellow Chicagoan Barbara Pennington her just rewards and feature her in the DiscoMuseum. Thank you Barbara for the memories I have of tripping the light fantastic to "Twenty-Four Hours A Day".....we're glad that you're alive and well........ |
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