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| The Emotions |
| Three sisters Sheila, Jeanette and Wanda Hutchinson, with their father Joe, were known initially as The Hutchinsons, then The Heavenly Sunbeams and had their first vocalizings at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in their hometown of Chicago. In 1958 they debuted on television, then hosted a radio program of gospel music. Shortly thereafter they graduated to a weekly TV series on Sunday mornings. On tour, they met The Staple Singers, who brought them to Memphis-based Stax/Volt Records in 1968.
To emphasize their metamorphosis into a secular group they chose to call themselves The Emotions after a friend confided to Joe that the girls' voices elicited an emotional response in the form of spinal chills. Along the way, sister Pam replaced Jeanette, while the newly monikered threesome (father Joe dropping out to return to the church and preaching), delved into pop music under the aegis of Isaac Hayes. Four of their Volt Records singles reached into the Hot 100, but none placed higher than "So I Can Love You" which hit number 39 in July of 1969. They made a brief appearance in the 1973 "Wattstax" documentary, but when Stax folded in 1975 they were without a label. In 1976 they signed with Maurice White's Kalimba Productions and Columbia Records snatched them up. Their first collaboration produced the "Flowers" album. The album produced a double-sided chart entry, "Flowers/I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love," but it didn't make the Top 40. "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" was however a huge club hit thanks in large part to a 12" single release, one of the earliest commercial Columbia releases. Their next album, "Rejoice," turned platinum thanks to the single "Best Of My Love." Though the title was often confused with a number one hit by The Eagles, The Emotions' "Best Of My Love" belonged to an altogether different musical genre. Maurice White, leading light behind Earth, Wind & Fire, had composed the rhythm and rough outline of the tune with Al McKay when he went into the studio to produce the singing trio. Lead singer Wanda learned the song from the demonstration tape, but had to jump her final vocals an octave higher than her usual register. It wasn't until she heard the song on the radio that she decided she was satisfied with her performance. Recorded during the heyday of disco, "Best Of My Love" whirled off the dance club floors to the top of the charts. It debuted on the Hot 100 at number 82 on June 11, 1977. It succeeded Andy Gibb's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" at number one ten weeks later. After an amazing four weeks at the top, it was in turn replaced by "I Just Want To Be Your Everything," which made a dramtic return after falling to number three. Gibb's encore lasted one week, then in a surprise move, The Emotions took over for an additional week. Their perfromance earned them a platinum album, a gold record, as well as a Grammy for "Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group or Chorus." Although they did not reach the Top 40 again on their own, they did team up with Earth, Wind & Fire for the rousing "Boogie Wonderland." It reached number 6 in July 1979, thanks in part to the commercial 12" single release and cemented their place in disco history. By 1981's release of "Turn It Out," a rather good production, Columbia had basically given up on them. In fact at that point they didn't even merit an entire 12" release. "Turn It Out" was backed with "It's You" by Afterbach, a rather lame song by an unheard of group. It was time to move on. A 1984 outing on Red Label Records, a Chicago-based outfit that also boasted Linda Clifford, "Sincerely," produced one 12" single. "You're The Best" was more down beat and received minimal club play, yet the girls' voices were as powerful as ever. Once again a label change occured when Motown grabbed them in 1985. One album was released, "If Only I Knew," but failed to produce any hits. At the time Sheila explained: "We wanted to do something that reflected our musical growth over the years." The album introduced the first non-family member, Adrianne Harris, as a replacement for Pam who returned to college to finish her degree. The group continued on doing the occasional appearance and flucuating between the secular and gospel circuits. 1990 saw an import 12" release of "Flowers" remixed by Gaz Anderson and Tony Thorpe containing three excellent remixes and the original 7" version. Taken from a compilation compact disc entitled "Dance Masters Vol.-1." Once more a label change took place, when they released "The Emotions Live In '96" for the small Raging Bull label. The group still tours occasionally but have basically settled into serving their church and enjoying their families and thanks to a plethora of re-issues and compilations they are enjoying renewed success with an entirely new generation of fans. |
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