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| Linda Lewis |
| Linda Lewis is one of our more unique artists. Linda almost became a one-hit wonder in the disco books with an eight-year span between club hits. Most people don't even know who she is, even those that danced to her two hits.
At an early age, even before she started school, Linda would accompany her mother singing in the pubs and clubs of her native East End of London and by the late 1950's she was known as something of a child prodigy. Her mother encouraged her to pursue any and every opportunity. She jammed with John Lee Hooker at the age of nine, appeared as a star-struck fan in the Beatles film "A Hard Day's Night" and recorded her first record while still a teen. Her first album was released in 1971. "Say No More" featured Linda's stunning vocals and guitar work, keyboards were by Fiachra Trench, who would play a key role in her career over a decade later. Her second album "Lark," was released in 1972, it consisted entirely of her own compositions and besides vocals Linda is credited with playing wind chimes, electric piano and tambourine. Linda produced the entire album with her then boyfriend, who would later become her husband, Jim Cregan a member of Rod Stewarts band and talent in his own right. "Lark" was a wonderful blend of soul, folk and rock all of which can from Linda naturally. Her follow-up album 1973's "Fathoms Deep," produced the chart hit "Rock-A-Doodle-Do" which peaked at number 12 on the U.K. charts and established her as a major recording star. The album used the same line-up as her previous release with Cregan and his crew backing her forceful vocals. Demand grew for Linda's services as a session singer and she can be heard on projects by Family (Jim Cregan's band), Manfred Mann, Elton John, David Bowie, Frank Zappa and Cat Stevens. Stevens was so impressed with Linda that he invited her on his 1973 tour of the United States. After her tour with Cat she had another successful single with "I'm In Love Again." By now Linda's name was well known within the industry and her services were requested by Marc Bolan, Stephen Stills, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, Richie Havens and countless others. She so impressed Stevie Wonder that he called personally to say he loved her! Her fourth and final album for Reprise was 1974's "Heart Strings" and although it was well produced and her vocals were in fine form, the uneveness of the material didn't generate much sales. But Linda was still enjoying the success of being one of Englands most sought-after session vocalists. In 1975 Linda signed with Clive Davis' Arista Records and released her biggest selling album to date. "Not A Little Girl Anymore" gave her an instant disco hit with her remake of Betty Everett's "It's In His Kiss." Pounding bass and sprightly guitar work lead way to her girlish vocals and the high notes she hits make Mariah Carey's seem like squeaks! Though no 12" was issued the single hit the top ten in the club charts, the top forty in the R&B charts and number six on the U.K. charts. She was proclaimed Britain's first disco diva. The album and it's 1977 follow-up "Woman Overboard" featured the cream of the crop of musicians. Tower Of Power horns, Ray Parker on guitar, Lowell George (Little Feat) on slide guitar, Luther Vandross, Lani Groves, Deniece Williams and Gwen Guthrie on background vocals. In fact she recorded Guthrie's "This Time I'll Be Sweeter," the first to do so, before Angela Bofill had a hit with it in 1978. "Woman Overboard" had a minor disco hit with "Bonfire" (written by Cat Stevens) and showed many different music styles like pop, disco, funk, and even some of her earlier strong folk and singer/songwriter influences. "Come Back And Finish What You Started" (written by Van McCoy and Joe Cobb) was later a hit for Gladys Knight & The Pips while "A Dreamer Of A Dream" turned out to be more successful for Candi Staton. 1979's "Hacienda View" gave her the last chart action she would see for several years. "I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You," from Evita, scored minor chart action in England but failed to recieve any action here in America. The album also contained a splendid cover of the Drifter's hit "Save The Last Dance For Me." After several years of self-imposed retirement Kevin Antony Roberts was able to coax Linda back into the studios for what would be her second club smash. The double-sided smash "Class/Style" and "You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet" was actually recorded several months before its release. Mixed by Ian Levine the 12" single was an instant high energy smash. During its awaited release she recorded another album for the Epic label. 1983's "A Tear And A Smile" was chocked full of strong numbers and even though three singles were released none achieved the success of her Electricity 12" dance single. Once again Linda put her career on hold and moved to Los Angeles. She stayed there until sometime in the late 1980's when she returned to her native England. By the early 1990's she was once again back in the studio recording backgrounds for Joan Armatrading, Bazooka and The Beloved among others. In 1995 she released "Second Nature" an album that showed a more mature artist finely tuning her craft. The disc featured jazz, pop, and latin-fused numbers that became hits in Japan. She became so successful in Japan that a tour followed and brought re-releases of her earlier works to her adoring fans. "Second Nature" went to number one in Japan and received widespread airplay in the U.K. prompting a sold-out tour of England that brought her back to old fans and garnered new ones. 1998 brought "Whatever" which once again featured all of her own compositions and many of the same musicians as her previous release. Once again tours of Japan and the U.K. brought massive adoration and strong sales for the album. Her last release was 1999's "Kiss Of Life" which once again featured her songwriting talents. A stellar remake of the Ruby & the Romantics hit "Our Day Will Come" is thrown in for good measure alongside standouts like "Nobody But You" and "Too Good To Be True." Though Linda is not well known in the U.S. she still holds a place in The DiscoMuseum for her two outstanding dance tracks, both of which are now hard-to-find items. |
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