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| Eugene Record |
| Born: 12-23-1940 Died: 7-22-2005 ....from cancer. |
| Chicago is often called the "second city," and during the disco era we produced some of the top artists of the genre. Think Loleatta Holloway, Evelyn Thomas, James Wells, Barbara Pennington, Curtis Mayfield...and the list goes on and on. Chicago is also know as a "first rate" city for soul and R&B artists as well. Think Jerry Butler, The Emotions, and Eugene Record. In 1959, on Chicago's southside Marshall Thompson, Creadel "Red" Jones, Robert Lester, Clarence Johnson and Eugene Record came together to form a soul/doo-wop group named the Hi-Lites. They gained local celebrity status playing bars, school dances and in soul reviews. After a series of rather unsuccessful singles on a handful of local labels they changed their name to Marshall and the Chi-Lites in 1964. Perhaps coining the term Chi to define Chicago much like Berry Gordy used Mo for Motor in Motown, hoping that it would change their chart success. But by the end of the year Clarence Johnson left and the guys dropped the Marshall moniker and became simply the Chi-Lites. Over the course of the next several years Eugene emerged as the group's main songwriter, producer and eventually it's lead vocalist. In 1968 they signed with the premier black label Brunswick Records, but still remained a local, not national success. As Eugene honed his talents and the group continued performing locally they finally got their first taste of national success with 1969's "Give It Away." The song peaked at number 10 on the soul charts but failed to give them a lucrative crossover pop hit. Their follow-up release "Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was" only gained moderate success, barely cracking the soul charts. The next few singles didn't even crack the charts until "Are You My Woman?" climbed into the soul top ten in early 1971. A succession of top ten hits followed commencing with their next release "(For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People" which was their first release to crossover into the pop charts. The ballads "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl" followed, both reaching number one on the soul charts. "Oh Girl" also peaked at the number one slot on the pop charts in the spring of 1972. The following year they released "Stoned Out Of My Mind," (later a disco hit for MaryAnn Farra and Satin Soul) and then the line-up in the group changed. Between 1973 and 1977 they had three more top ten soul hits "Homely Girl," "There Will Never Be Any Peace" and "Toby." Frustrated with the failing finances of Brunswick and the lack of another pop hit Eugene bailed out of the group in mid-1977. By year's end he had signed with Warner Brothers and released his first solo album, "The Eugene Record." The album was an uneven selection of smooth jams and slightly uptempo R&B tunes. Writing partner and duet vocalist Barbara Acklin chipped in for backing vocals and support, but the album was not a smash success. His second release for Warner Brothers,1978's "Trying To Get To You." gave him his first 12" single "Magnetism." The song was a slick, uptempo number that owed much of it's success to the remix by Jimmy Simpson. The album and song were about as far removed from the Chi-Lites material as one could get. A final solo effort and release for W.B. was 1979's "Welcome To My Fantasy." Again it produce one 12" single, "Where Are You." However his lackluster approach to the overall project failed to generate any interest in the 12" single or the album. It disappeared along with his contract. The ensuing decade saw Eugene continue writing and producing, some of the acts that benefitted from his talents were Barbara Acklin, Jackie Wilson, Lowrell Simon and The Dells. He also remained tight with the Chi-Lites often filling in on concert dates and the occassional recording session all while staying here in Chicago. Rapper MC Hammer covered "Have You Seen Her" on his Capitol Records album "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em." The song quickly went gold and peaked at number four on both the R&B and the pop charts during the summer of 1990, no doubt fattening the coffers of songwriters Acklin and Record. In 1988, Record became a born-again Christian, making a 1992 appearance on TV's The 700 Club. After much study and spiritual growth, the veteran artist released his first all-gospel album, "Let Him In," on his own label, Evergreen Records. Veteran promoter Gus Redmond was tapped by his childhood friend for promotional duties. In December of 2003, Eugene reunited with the Chi-Lites to film the PBS special "Superstars Of Seventies Soul." The following year the hip hop generation knocked on his door once again as "Are You My Woman" was used as part of the Beyonce hit "Crazy in Love." The song used enough of his tune to garner a writing credit and earned Eugene his first Grammy Award. After a long battle with cancer Eugene Record passed away on July 22, 2005 at the age of 64. At the time of his death he was busy with ministry work and planning a re-release of his 1998 gospel album. |
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