He is a singer born in St. Louis, Missouri, who was
stationed with the US Army in Germany and often sang in clubs over there.When he left service he settled in
Columbus, Georgia, and began concentrating on his professional singing
career.He appeared with
Wilson Pickett in Georgia and then in 1968 moved on to Chicago to perform
some gigs in what was known as the "chitlin circuit".While there he became acquainted
with Curtis Mayfield who opened up the way for him to get a recording
session with Weis Records, which resulted in the 1969 song "If I Don't Lose
My Head".Other singles followed
and then in 1972 he changed companies and recorded for the Bell label. He released "The Look On Your Face"
and after changing to Aware Records he released his solo album Messing
Up a Good Thing.In 1973
he performed a number of times with the group The Spinners (known as The
Detroit Spinners in the UK) but continuing on with his solo career, 1974
saw him achieve his first success with Careful Man, which reached
No. 8 in the charts.Aware Records
went out of business and so he once again moved on.This time to Cotillion Records.He released a further album Life,
Love and Living in 1976 and then in 1977 he took the plunge and became the
lead vocalist of The Spinners after Philippe Wynne had decided to leave
them to work with George Clinton. This move saw him gaining recognition for his vocals on
hits that include "Cupid (I've Loved You For a Long Time)" and "Working My
Way Back to You/Forgive Me Girl" as well as their other chart songs that
have appeared since he joined them three decades ago. Having
lent his talents to many producers and artists over the years as a
studio/session singer he has worked with Nicolette
Larson, James
Mtume
and Michael Zager among others.A sample of the many albums he has
featured on other than his own include Last Mango in Paris by Jimmy
Buffett
, Elite Hotel by Emmylou Harris, Dancin' & Lovin',
Down to Business and One of a Kind Love Affair by The Spinners. In 2002 he suffered a stroke but he
still remains a much-loved member of The Spinners.
The Spinners
recordings
Working My Way Back to
You/Forgive Me Girl (Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell/Michael Zager)
