I saw this group live a few years ago at a poorly-attended, poorly-publicized outdoor festival. They put on such a wonderful show, and their voices were so gorgeous -- as if not a day had passed since their 1977 #1 R&B hit "Best of My Love." When the girls sang "Blessed," tears began rolling down my face. Really. It takes some real skills to make folks cry when you sing, because it's so beautiful. But they did it and are quite used to it, I'm sure, since sisters Wanda, Sheila, and Jeannette (and sometimes Pamela) started their careers singing in the church as the Hutchinson Sunbeams.
The Emotions only began singing secular material in the 60s (they had several great albums and hits for Stax, especially the Isaac Hayes-produced "So I Can Love You"). But the real success came when they signed with Earth Wind & Fire's Maurice White's Kalimba productions in '75. From there all the hits we know and love started pouring out of ladies' skillful writing and divine voices: "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love," "Don't Ask My Neighbors," etc. And any hip hop sampler who knows anything will have a copy of
the girls' "Blind Alley" from 1972 on Stax for one of rap's most widely-known samples (Think "Ain't No Half Steppin'" by Big Daddy Kane).
The group, over the years, has recorded with top gospel artists like Helen Baylor and successfully returned to the live "old-school" circuit I thank the heavens for that, and will "Rejoice" when I will be blessed with the opportunity to see them live once again.
Unless otherwise noted, all written material copyright 1999, Melissa A. Weber.
No part of these pages may be reproduced on another site without my prior written consent.
Links:
Wanda Hutchinson Real Audio Interview on the R&B Page
Real Audio:
So I Can Love You, 1969
Selected Discography:
So I Can Love You by the Emotions, Stax, 1970
Songs of Love, by the Emotions, Volt, 1971
Untouched, by the Emotions, Volt, 1972
Flowers by the Emotions, Columbia, 1976
Rejoice by the Emotions, Columbia, 1977
Come Into Our World, by the Emotions, Columbia, 1979
New Affair, by the Emotions, Columbia, 1981
Sincerely, by the Emotions, Red Label, 1984
If I Only Knew, by the Emotions, Motown, 1985
Live in '96, by the Emotions, Raging Bull, 1996
Find Emotions Music:
Get vinyl from Gemm.com
Get CDs from Amazon.com
|
