Jump to content

Brenda Russell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Khloai (talk | contribs) at 14:11, 26 August 2019 (→Legacy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Brenda Russell
Background information
Birth nameBrenda Gordon
Born (1949-04-08) April 8, 1949 (age 75)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active1963–present
LabelsHorizon (1979)
A&M (1979–81, 1988–92)
Warner Bros. (1983)
EMI (1993)
Hidden Beach (2000)
Dome/Narada Jazz (2003–)

Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949)[1] is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical style which encompasses pop, soul, dance, and jazz. She has received a sum of five Grammy nominations altogether.[2][3][4]

Life and career

Brenda Gordon was born to musical parents, with her mother being a singer/songwiter and her father Gus Gordon, a one-time member of the Ink Spots. She spent her early years in Canada after moving to Hamilton, Ontario at the age of 12. As a teenager she began performing in local bands and was recruited to sing in a Toronto-based girl group called The Tiaras along with Jackie Richardson. The group's one single, "Where Does All The Time Go", was released on Barry Records in 1968 but was unsuccessful.[3][5]

In her late teens, she joined the Toronto production of Hair, during which time she had begun to play the piano. In the early 1970s she married musician Brian Russell. The couple went on to compose Rufus's Please Pardon Me (on their album Rufusized) and contribute backup vocals to Neil Sedaka's Laughter In The Rain. The Russells also featured as backing vocalists for Elton John's concert at Wembley Stadium on 21 June 1975. Billed as Brian & Brenda they released two albums on John's Rocket label being Word Called Love in 1976 and 1977's Supersonic Lover.[3][5]

The duo also performed on two tracks from Robert Palmer's breakout soul-pop album Double Fun. Their daughter, Lindsay, was born in 1977, but the couple had divorced by the late 1970s, and Russell, now living in Los Angeles, had set out on a solo career.

During 1979 Russell's self-titled debut album was released by A&M Records. The album got to No. 20 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3][6] An album cut entitled So Good So Right also got to Nos. 8, 15 & 30 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs, Hot Soul Songs and Hot 100 charts respectively.[7][8][9]

Russell went on to work with Earth, Wind & Fire as a composer on their 1980 album Faces and 1981 LP Raise!.[3][10]

Russell issued her sophomore album Love Life in 1981 on A&M.[11]

Moving to Warner Bros. Records, she released her third album, Two Eyes, in 1983, but this was also unsuccessful. After this, Russell relocated to Sweden and began writing songs for her next album.[10]

Returning to A&M Records, Russell's fourth album, Get Here, was released in 1988. It became her greatest commercial success, spawning her biggest hit "Piano in the Dark" (a US Top 10 hit which featured Joe Esposito) and garnered three Grammy Award nominations.[12] The title track went on to become a worldwide hit in 1991 when it was covered by Oleta Adams. After releasing her next album, Kiss Me with the Wind (1990), Russell's contract with A&M concluded with the release of her Greatest Hits album in 1992.

Russell then signed with EMI and released the album Soul Talkin' in 1993. After this, Russell took some time off from recording her own music and during this period she composed songs for other artists and contributed to the score for the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back, written by Michel Colombier.[13] She also appeared in the 1999 film Liberty Heights, in which she performed two songs written especially for the movie.

Russell resumed her solo career in 2000 with the album Paris Rain, released on Hidden Beach Records. The album (which includes collaborations with Carole King, Dave Koz and Sheila E.) saw Russell move away from the pop market toward a more adult-oriented sound.[14] In 2003, she signed to the new UK label Dome Records and released the compilation album So Good, So Right: The Best of Brenda Russell. Her eighth studio album, Between the Sun and the Moon, was released by Dome in 2004.[15]

2005 saw a Broadway musical version of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, the show's score was written by Russell and lyricists-composers Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. Russell and her co-writers were nominated for a Tony Award (for Best Score) and a Grammy Award (in the Best Musical Show Album category).[16][17][4]

In November 2009, three tracks from Russell's ninth studio album, This Is Real Life, were made available via her official website,[18] although a release date for the album is yet to be announced.

In 2011, the Dutch dance duo Bingo Players released a dance track entitled "Cry (Just a Little)" which featured a sample of Russell's 1988 hit "Piano in the Dark". In 2012, rapper Flo Rida released the song "I Cry" with the same sample and a similar beat.[citation needed]

In 2015 Russell, after making her home in Los Angeles for thirty years, took up residence in Austin, Texas.[19]

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Brenda Russell among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[20]

Other work

Russell guested on Donna Summer's 1982 album Donna Summer and Chaka Khan's 1988 album CK.[21] She later produced and guested on Phil Perry's 1991 album The Heart of a Man. The album rose to No. 17 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Russell also appeared on Joni Mitchell's 1991 LP Night Ride Home and the Yellowjackets 1992 album Live Wires.[22][21]

Russell went on to produce Diana Ross on her 1995 LP Take Me Higher. The album got to No. 10 on the UK Albums chart.[21][23]

Legacy

Russell has been covered by artists such as Babyface, Oleta Adams, Luther Vandross, Ruben Studdard and Ramsey Lewis. She has also been sampled by artistes such as Ariana Grande.[24]

Artists such as Hot Chip have also been influenced by Russell.[25]

Accolades

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Russell has received a sum of five Grammy nominations altogether.[4]

Year Category Nominated work Result
1988 Song Of The Year "Piano In The Dark" Nominated
1988 Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female Get Here Nominated
1988 Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals "Piano In The Dark" Nominated
2006 Best Musical Show Album "Colour Purple" Nominated
2016 Best Musical Theatre Album "Colour Purple" Nominated

Tony Awards

Russell has also been nominated for a Tony Award.[17]

Year Category Nominated work Result
2006 Original Musical Score "Colour Purple" Nominated

Discography

Main article: Brenda Russell discography

Filmography

Russell featured as a singer in the feature films American Hot Wax of 1978 and 1999's Liberty Heights.[26]

References

  1. ^ Gregory, Andy (2002).The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002. p.444
  2. ^ "Brenda Russell". allmusic.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Counting the Stars: Treasured Singer-Songwriter Brenda Russell Shares Her Story". Popmatters.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Brenda Russell". Grammy.com.
  5. ^ a b "FEATURE BRENDA RUSSELL: SOULSATIONAL". bluesandsoul.com.
  6. ^ "Brenda Russell: Brenda Russell (Top Soul Albums)". Billboard.com.
  7. ^ "Brenda Russell: So Good So Right (Adult Contemporary Songs)". Billboard.com.
  8. ^ "Brenda Russell: So Good So Right (Hot Soul Songs)". Billboard.com.
  9. ^ "Brenda Russell: So Good So Right (Hot 100)". Billboard.com.
  10. ^ a b "Brenda Russell: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  11. ^ "Brenda Russell: Love Life". allmusic.com.
  12. ^ "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - The 31st Annual Grammy Awards (1988)". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Brenda Russell". Smooth-jazz.de. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved October 24, 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Between the Sun and the Moon - Brenda Russell | Releases". AllMusic. 2004-07-13. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ a b "Brenda Russell". Tonyawards.com.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ Pam Meade. "Brenda Russell finds inspiration for writing songs all around her". Monroe News. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  20. ^ Rosen, Jody (25 June 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Allmusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Phil Perry: The Heart of the Man". billboard.com.
  23. ^ "Diana Ross". officialcharts.com.
  24. ^ "Brenda Russell". secondhandsongs.com.
  25. ^ "The Songs Hot Chip Wish They Wrote". pitchfork.com.
  26. ^ "Brenda Russell". IMDb.com.

Template:Wikipedia books

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brenda_Russell&oldid=912569258"