You Heard the Hit Singles. Experience the Albums

By Lisa Herndon, Manager, Schomburg Communications and Publications
May 31, 2022
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
A collage of inside and album artwork by artists such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Stephanie Mills, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Chaka Khan, Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Patti LaBelle, and The Isley Brothers

The Schomburg Center's Moving Image & Recorded Sound Division holds albums in its collections by artists featured on the online series Verzuz. There are records by Earth, Wind & Fire, Stephanie Mills, Keith Sweat, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Chaka Khan, Bobby Brown, and The lsley Brothers.

Pictured: Left to right, top to bottom

June is Black Music Month. Over the next five weeks, listen to some of the songs, artists, and musical styles created by Black artists—Verzuz style! 

Created by music producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz in 2020, Verzuz is an online series where two legendary artists square off via playlists of their biggest hits in a virtual musical battle. Although billed as a rivalry, the web series celebrates the singers, songwriters, and producers whose works have become the soundtracks of our lives. The series also reintroduces, and introduces, their chart-topping tunes to audiences of all ages.

Past matchups have included: Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight; Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills; Earth, Wind & Fire and The Isley Brothers; and Bobby Brown and Keith Sweat.

The Schomburg Center’s Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division (MIRS) has albums by all of these artists in its collections. Experience the music as originally presented by the artists. Explore the liner notes, read the song lyrics, and see the LP’s front, back, and sleeve artwork. You can schedule a research appointment to listen.

Patti LaBelle & Gladys Knight

On the left side, an album cover showing Patti LaBelle. On the right side, singer Gladys Knight is pictured with The Pips, a group of three male singers.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer Patti LaBelle first shot to fame as the lead singer of The Bluebells, later renamed LaBelle. The group had their first hit with 1962’s “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman.” Over a decade later, the group recorded their 1974 iconic smash “Lady Marmalade.” 

LaBelle became a solo artist with the release of her self-titled album (Sc Audio RE-6538) in 1977. It produced hits such as “Joy to Have Your Love” and “You Are My Friend.” Other albums followed such as 1978’s Tasty (Sc Audio RE-6542), which are in the collections.

LaBelle, who is also an actress and author, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in honor of her career achievements in 1993.

In a music career spanning more than five decades, seven-time Grammy Award-winner Gladys Knight has had number one hits across Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Pop, and Adult Contemporary music. She released her first album in 1960 as part of Gladys Knights & The Pips. In 1996, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Their string of hit singles include “Love Overboard,” “Neither One of Us,” “Save the Overtime (For Me),” “You’re Number One (In My Book).” 

MIRS holds 1973’s Neither One Us (Sc Audio RE-6529), 1977’s Still Together (Sc Audio RE-6531), 1983’s Visions (Sc Audio RE-16444), 1981’s Touch, 1985’s Life (Sc Audio RE-16443), and 1987’s All our Love (Sc Audio RE-16445)

Chaka Khan & Stephanie Mills

On the left side, a record album in bright colors shows a mid shot of singer Chaka Khan with the word Chaka Khan in black lettering..The right side features a record album cover with Stephanie Mills. It has a white background. She is standing up. The words Stephanie Mills is written in black script-like lettering.

Activist, singer, and 10-time Grammy Award winner Chaka Khan first came into the public eye as part of the funk band Rufus in 1973. Khan became a solo artist in 1978. MIRS holds 1980’s Naughty (Sc Audio RE-16426), 1981’s What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me (Sc Audio RE-16425), and 1982’s Chaka Khan (Sc Audio RE-16424).

The liner notes of What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me reveal the backstory behind the song “And the Melody Still Lingers On (Night in Tunisia),” which was an update of a jazz classic. 

“Why not update the lyrics to Dizzy Gillespie’s ‘Night in Tunisia’ to show our appreciation for the musician pioneers of the mid-forties?,” wrote Arif Mardin, Khan’s producer in the liner notes. 

“It would be a tribute to those innovators of a new musical language, one that met a lot of resistance initially, but that went on to change the shape of music.” 

Find out how the song came together, the Dizzy Gillespie performance that almost didn’t happen, and the performance by Herbie Hancock that did. 

Stephanie Mills, a two-time Grammy Award winner, first came to fame in the 1975 Broadway production The Wiz, where she won a Drama Desk Award for her role as Dorothy. Although Mills had been a solo performer years before, the title track of 1979’s “What Cha Do With My Lovin’“ became one of Mills’s signature hits and expanded her fame and fan base. 

Her 1980 album Sweet Sensation (Sc Audio RE-16503), which is in MIRS, includes one of her biggest hits “Never Knew Love Like This Before” and the album’s title track. Sleeve art features a close-up photograph of Mills. The Center holds Stephanie Mills (Sc Audio RE-16504), Tantalizingly Hot (Sc Audio RE-16506), and Merciless (Sc Audio RE-16505)

Earth, Wind & Fire and The Isley Brothers

On the left side, the album cover of the group Earth, Wind and Fire. It shows the name of the group in gold lettering. There is a circular image with a person and baby inside and the columns of temples. The right side has a cover of a record albums by The Isley Brothers, which is in red lettering. Four members are standing and two are seated.

Founded by the late Maurice White, six-time Grammy award winners Earth, Wind & Fire blend dance, disco, funk, gospel, jazz, rhythm and blues to create their own unique style of music. The group recorded their self-titled album in 1970. They released 1979’s I AM (Sc Audio RE-16295), one of the group’s masterpieces, which is in the library collections. Hits include “After the Love Is Gone,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Into the Stone,” and more. 

White, who gave the group its name based on the three elements in his astrological chart of Sagittarius, was also the creative mind behind the album's innovative artwork.  

Remember when songs had a remix? MIRS holds the 12-inch version of 1987's “Evil Roy” (Sc Audio RE-16294). The A Side has the 12” Mix and 7” Mix. The B-side includes the six-minute Dub Mix and the instrumental. The single is from 1987's Touch the World.

Members during the 1980s and 1990s included White, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Fred White, Verdine White, and the late Roland Bautista, Bernard “Beloyd” Taylor and Andrew Wolfolk. Musicians in The Phenix Horns, the main horn section of the band, were Rahmlee Michael Davis and the late Michael Harris, Don Myrick,  Louis “Lui Lui” Satterfield.

The group was inducted into the 2000 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their unique sound, musicianship, and fusion of musical styles paved the way for groups such as The Ohio Players. 

Originally a four-man gospel quartet consisting of O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald “Mr. Biggs,” and Vernon Isley in the 1950s, The Isley Brothers left performing after the death of Vernon Isley at age 13. In 1957, the future Grammy Award winners and three remaining members moved from their native Ohio to New York City to find success as a rock and roll band. Their first major hit was “Shout.”

Their influence has been felt across rock and roll, R&B, and hip hop. Rappers such as Ice Cube, The Notorious B.I.G, and Roxanne Shante have sampled their music. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. 

MIRS has 1980’s Go All The Way (Sc Audio RE-16381), which produced classic tunes like “Here We Go Again, Part 1 and 2” and “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time for Love).” The lineup included the three-man trio, brothers Ernie and the late Marvin Isley, plus Chris Jasper.

The 1985’s album Masterpiece (Sc Audio RE-16383), where the group returned as a trio, had the songs “Colder Are My Nights,” “Stay Gold” and “The Most Beautiful Girl.” It included the classic lineup of Ronald, Rudolph, and the late O’Kelly Isley.

Bobby Brown & Keith Sweat

On the left side, an album cover featuring Bobby Brown. His name is in red lettering. On the right side, an album cover featuring Keith Sweat. The photo is a mid-shot. His name is in gold lettering.

Hear Bobby Brown before he incorporated “new jack swing”—a fusion of hip hop and R&B beats created by music producer Teddy Riley—into his sound.

The Grammy Award-winner first came to the public eye as part of the group New Edition, which he formed in 1978. Brown became a solo artist in 1986 with the release of King of Stage (Sc Audio RE-16207). It produced the hits “Girlfriend,” “Girl Next Door,” and “You Ain’t Been Loved Right.” The album’s sleeve includes liner notes and photos of Brown sporting a red track suit. ​​

Released in 1987, Make It Last Forever (Sc Audio RE-16653) is the multi platinum-selling debut album of Harlem-born Keith Sweat. It contained smash hits “I Want Her,” “Something Just Ain’t Right,” “Don’t Stop Your Love,” and the title track. The album went on to sell over three million copies and reached number one on the R&B charts. Sweat produced the album with Riley, a fellow Harlemite. 

The back cover includes a song list, production credits, and message from Sweat thanking his family, friends, and those who assisted him with making this album.

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