Baby Washington: The Sue Singles (1962-1968)

Baby Washington possessed one of the most compelling and moving voices of the soul era. With her contralto to mezzo-soprano tones she combined down-to-earth gospel soulfulness with a stately uptown elegance. She may never have enjoyed the cross-over success of Dionne Warwick, but her haunting singing is one of the most singular sounds to have emerged from the New York soul scene of the early ‘60s. Washington was raised in Harlem, singing first in a vocal group, the Hearts, in 1956 and becoming a solo artist the following year. She built a career with 16 chart entries during a decade and a half, most of them during the 60s, recording in New York first for Donald Shaw's Neptune label and then for Juggy Murray's Sue label. She established herself as a major soul singer recording ‘The Time’ and ‘The Bells’, both in 1959, and ‘Nobody Cares’, in 1961. Moving to Sue Records in 1962, Washington hit the US national Top 40 in 1963 with the sublime ‘That's How Heartaches Are Made’ - a song which was heavily covered by the likes of Randy Crawford, Loleatta Holloway and Jerry Butler -, and the US R&B Top 10 with ‘Only Those In Love’, in 1965. Washington revived her career in the early ‘70s, recording in Philadelphia a duet with Don Gardner, a revival of the Marvelettes' ‘Forever’, a solo release ‘I've Got to Break Away’, and a well-received album. The coming of disco in the mid-‘70s effectively killed her career, as it did those of many soul artists. This excellent 28-track compilation of her work for the Sue label in the '60s has all of the significant R&B hits she recorded for the company, including 'That's How Heartaches are Made', ‘Handful of Memories,’ ‘Who's Gonna Take Care of Me,’ ‘It'll Never Be Over for Me,’ ‘Only Those in Love,’ and ‘No Time for Pity.’ It's also the best showcase for her versatility, going from near-gospel to string-laden uptown pop/soul, and even a bit of blues, straight pop, and jazz-inflected numbers. Her influence on Dusty Springfield, who cited Washington as her all-time favourite singer, can easily be detected on ‘I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face’ and ‘Doodlin',’ both of which Springfield covered in the '60s. http://www.acerecords.co.uk/, http://www.oldies.com/

aa