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| Leroy Hutson |
| Born June 4, 1945 in Newark, New Jersey, Hutson is a powerhouse of talent that does not enjoy mainstream name recognition. Producer, singer, songwriter, musician....you name he can do it. As with most musically inclined people of Hutson's generation he began experimenting with various local groups in his high school years. Nothing materialized with those groups and Hutson went off to college. While at Howard University he roomed with a young unknown vocalist, Donny Hathaway and was a classmate with the aspiring Roberta Flack.. His friendship with Donny would last until the singers untimely death in 1979. Their paths and careers intersected throughout the early years of both their careers. In fact Leroy's break as a writer came when Hathaway recorded his "The Ghetto" as a single in 1970. Hathaway was the first to land at Curtom. In 1969 he joined the Mayfield Singers, a studio group that backed the Impressions on recording sessions. After writing Hathaway's 1970 hit Hutson was brought onboard to replace Curtis Mayfield as lead singer of the Impressions in 1971. After two years Leroy left the group, but not the label, to pursue a solo career. Beginning with 1973's "Love Oh, Love" and the single "When You Smile" Hutson would have seven albums for Curtom over the next six years. His first offering was a soul album with comparisons to Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and set the stage for some up Curtom's smoothest releases. 1974's "The Man" billed Hutson as "writer-producer-artist-superstar" on it's cover and didn't quite deliver. The material was first rate but Hutson hadn't yet matured into a well rounded vocalist. The highlight of the album was Hutson's own "The Ghetto '74" but it failed to propell the album into huge sales. "Hutson" was Leroy's more modestly titled 1975 release and was without a doubt his best to date. Crack productions, top notch writing and superior vocal performances by Hutson added up to three top tracks, "Lucky Fellow," "All Because Of You," and "So Much Love." 1976-77 gave us two Hutson albums, "Feel The Spirit" and "Hutson 2." The latter also gave him his best chart showing ever and his first inkling of a disco track with the smash "Blackberry Jam." Until this point his career seemed stalled and he was best noted as a top songwriter and capable producer. After a series of albums where he handled most of the production and writing as a one-man show, Leroy Hutson teamed up with a number of collaborators (including Linda Clifford producer Gil Askey) to record 1978's "Closer To The Source." The result is an unambitious but slick album of pop-soul. The title track and "In The Mood" are two of my personal favorites but all the tracks play out well. After recording a string of soul albums that earned him little commercial success, Hutson decided to take the most commercial route possible on 1979's "Unforgettable" by making a disco album. The 12" single of "Unforgettable" is the whole reason he is here on this page. The song, a Bistro classic, remains one of my Top 50 all-time favorites. Taking an old standard and disco-tizing it was not something new, yet Hutson gave it such pizzazz that most would not recognize it as the Nat King Cole hit of the 1950's. Despite the success of the 12" single RSO didn't issue a follow-up even though the album had several contenders. Fortunately Charly Records out of the U.K. have reissued the complete album including the long version of the title track in 1998. Over the next few years Curtom was absorbed by RSO, RSO dissolved and disco seemed to have it's death. All this and other issues led to Leroy's absence from the charts for nearly three years. He rebounded in 1982 on Elektra Records with a downhome jazz/soul offering "Paradise." Most of the cuts are laid-back, perfect for chilling out. The cornerstone track is his luscious cover of (local Chicago group) Omni's "You Make It Happen." Other highlights are the mid-tempo sax-laced title track, "Nice And Easy," the funky dance jam "Nobody But You," and the upbeat, uplifting "Stay At It" with backing vocals by Carl Carlton. The album was a solid release featuring a more mature and stable Hutson at his prime. As a solo artist Leroy tossed in the towel for a decade after Elektra failed to promote the album properly and it would be 1992 before he released another album. The tiny Ichiban label issued "There's More Where This Came From" but the label folded before the album gained any exposure. Since then Hutson has virtually disappeared from the music scene, there are not even listings for him working as a sessionist since then. Still we honor Leroy for one of my all-time favorite disco hits and for the legacy he gave to Chicago, Curtom and the soul world....we hope he is alive, well and happy. |
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