Roberta Flack Donny Hathaway Roberta Flack Donny Hathaway/NY,USA 1971 & more

The masterpiece “Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway” was released on April 20, 1972, and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, No. 2 on the R&B album chart, and No. 10 on the jazz album chart. The two were seniors and juniors at Howard University, a prestigious black music school (Roberta was 8 years older than Donny and entered Howard at the age of 15). A live recording for radio on November 24, 1971, before the release of the album, has been leaked and will be made into a CD. It is an official soundboard, and it is an astonishing word. First of all, this live performance took place before Donny Hathaway’s masterpiece and live album “Live” was released in February 1972, and Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” reached No. 1 in the US in April 1972, so it was an epoch-making performance. However, they released singles under their own names, “You’ve Got A Friend” in May 1971 and “You’ve Lost Tha Lovin’ Feelin'” in September, which reached 29th and 71st in the pop charts, respectively. Danny’s “Live” also features performances at the Torpador in Los Angeles in August 1971 and the Bitter End in New York in October, so it’s highly likely that those people are the backing musicians for this live performance. This is because the sound of “Little Ghetto Boy,” the only performance that overlaps with “Live,” is quite similar. For example, Cornell Dupree, a virtuoso who played rhythm guitar in contrast to Jimi Hendrix’s flashy guitar during King Curtis’s The Kingpins, can be heard throughout the album with his comfortable cutting (Phil Upchurch played guitar in August on “Live,” but Cornell played guitar in October, and “Little Ghetto Boy” was performed by him). However, the backing vocals that the members used to sing together as one are not included in this live performance, and if they were, the other members would naturally be there as well, but I think it is safe to say that it is a performance full of charm with the same members as in “Live”, with Earl Derouen on conga, Fred White on drums, Willie Weeks on bass, and Danny singing and electric piano. Or, since Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Eric Gale and other talented musicians participated in “Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway”, there is a chance that one of them is there. Anyway, there is no doubt that the best live performance is being performed by the best members, even though it is just before the hit. If you think that the band is that kind of member, there will be people who will want to worship them for their greatness when listening to this live performance. “Where Is The Love” (written by Ralph McDonald and William Salter, originally intended for the 5th Dimension) was released in April 1972 and reached number 5 as a single. It’s already super comfortable, and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” is a live jazzy cover with a strange breakdown that’s different from the originals by the Righteous Brothers and Hall & Oates, allowing you to enjoy Roberta and Danny’s unique musical world from the very beginning. And the well-coordinated duet between Roberta and Danny on “When Love Has Grown,” co-written by Danny and Eugene McDaniels, is refreshingly refreshing. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was the first big hit song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King after their marriage. It was written for the Shirelles and was the first black female group to reach number one on the Billboard charts. Carole also covered it on her album Tapestry, released in February 1971. Roberta sings “You’re mine tonight, but will you love me tomorrow?” with her unique tolerance. And then there’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” also written by Carole. Tapestry and James Taylor’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon were made at the same time, and James had included this song because he really wanted to sing it. Tapestry was released in February 1971, and James’ single was released on May 29, 1971, so Roberta and Danny’s cover was released a little earlier. However, James’s version reached number one. “If you call my name, I’ll rush to you no matter where you are, because you’ve got a friend like that.” This may not be a song to sing as a duet. When James sings alone, he feels heroic. Still, the exchange between Roberta and Danny is exceptional, and it doesn’t matter if it was a hit or not. And then there’s the standard jazz “For All We Know” with Danny’s solo piano and singing. There’s a little analog needle noise in the tranquility (probably because the master is analog), but it’s full of atmosphere, and this song is best for Danny, and it’s even more understandable when it’s performed live, and it’s so touching that it makes you cry. Chaka Khan performed “Baby I Love You” with Prince at Cafe de Paris in London in 1998, but it was a different version. Roberta is faithful to the Aretha Franklin version, but instead of a female chorus, Danny is involved, making it a world of just the two of them, which is exciting. The live version of the sad duet cover of “I (Who Have Nothing)”, originally an Italian song with English lyrics, which Ben E. King reached No. 29 on the Billboard charts in 1963 and Tom Jones reached No. 14 on the Billboard charts in 1970, is a masterpiece in which the sadness of the two is overwhelmingly overwhelming. Danny says that this will be his next single, “Little Ghetto Boy”. And the last song is “Be Real Black For Me”, in which he sings “Be real black for me”. Danny and Roberta are the core of the composition, and while it is true that they should sing alone and I wonder what about twins, I think that it is the pride of the two that should be reevaluated now that they are chanting Black Lives Matter regardless of whether they are men or women. It is the best closing. The bonus is a ripping of the live sound source from the 1972 documentary “Doulbe Exposure”. There is a slight aging and crackling sound, but it is a soundboard recording in which you can hear the whole performance. Other than “Baby I Love You,” there is no overlap, and I’m happy that they play their signature songs such as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “The Ghetto.” 1.intro 2.Where Is The Love (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 3.You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 4.When Love Has Grown (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 5.Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Roberta Flack) 6.You’ve Got A Friend (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 7.For All We Know (Donny Hathaway) 8.Baby I Love You (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 9.I (Who Have Nothing) (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 10.Little Ghetto Boy (Donny Hathaway) 11.Be Real Black For Me (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) WPLJ Radio, A&R Studios, New York City, Nov 24th 1971 12.intro 13.Baby I Love You (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 14.Somewhere (Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway) 15.The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack) 16.The Ghetto (Donny Hathaway) 17.Reverend Lee (Roberta Flack) Double Exposure (filmed in 1972)