Lorraine Ellison – Heart Be Still
Lorraine Ellison
Listen/Download – Lorraine Ellison – Heart Be Still MP3
Greetings all.
The end of the week is here, and so then is the Funky16Corners Radio Show. Coming to you every Friday with the best in soul, funk, jazz and rare groove, all on original vinyl in iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Mixcloud and right here at Funky16Corners.com
We close out the week with something groovy from Miss Lorraine Ellison.
Ellison, best known for her epic reading of Jerry Ragovoy’s ’Stay With Me’(grazing the R&B Top 10 in 1966), had a uniquely powerful voice.
She recorded for Mercury, Warner Brothers and Loma between 1965 and 1970, returning to WB in 1973/74.
Today’s selection, ‘Heart Be Still’ is one of those records I grabbed while digging, without having ever heard it, on the strength of the names on the label, those being Ellison, Ragovoy and Bert Berns.
When I looked up ‘Heart Be Still’ I was surprised to discover that it had actually been a hit, Ellison’s last date with the R&B Top 40 in 1967.
My surprise was based more in the style of the song, a restrained, heavily gospel-inflected feel (she had gotten her start recording gospel with the Ellison Singers), as opposed to its obvious quality.
Written by Ragovy and Berns, arranged by Garry Sherman and produced by Ragovoy, ‘Heart Be Still’ combines a restrained backing (piano, organ, drums) with a tour de force vocal by Ellison, backed by a gospel-style choir.
There are points where her vocals reach into the rafters, bordering on the histrionic, yet always remain anchored in reality.
It’s a great record, and I hope you dig it.
See you next week.
Keep the faith
Larry
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