Vivian Reed: Vivian Reed (1970) ... plus

I would like to say farewell with a final post I am sure you are going to love, since this record is an extremely rare collector's item ...

An outstanding vocalist with a rich lower voice, the ravishingly beautiful Vivian Reed, a.k.a. "Ms. Bubblin' Brown Sugar," never made the splash in the record industry that she did as a Broadway actress. The talented New York native is the daughter of Lucille, and the late Clyde Reed. She starred in Bubbling Brown Sugar on Broadway, as Queenie, and with off Broadway productions in Toronto, Paris, and other cities. Her acting acumen, earned the vivacious actress, a Tony nomination, the Drama Desk Award (outstanding feature actress in a musical), Outer Circle Critics Award, the NAACP Award, and many more honors. In the early '90s she won a Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club. She began recording in the '60s and enjoyed her highest charting single with a fantastic rendition of 'Yours Until Tomorrow,' in 1968 on Epic Records. Hot on its heels she released her debut Lp, simply titled Vivian Reed. Produced by Ted Cooper and arranged and conducted by Jimmy Wisner, Tommy Bell and Bobby Martin, this is a killer of an album, mostly comprised of showtunes like 'Somewhere', 'The Shape of Things to Come' and 'I've Gotta Be Me', but all with a solid soul pedigree. It also features a great version of the Barbara Acklin and Eugene Record's song 'Walk on My Side'. Another single '(You're My) Soul and Inspiration b/w 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (Medley)' made a little noise, climbing to #115 on the Billboard Singles Charts. Her next LP was the soundtrack Brown Sugar, on H&L Records in 1976, then Another Side, on United Artists Records in 1979; a second United Artists album Ready and Waiting dropped in 1980. They all sold poorly, and the single releases didn't shake em' up either. Other than her debut on Epic, and her United Artists' albums, the first produced by Jeff Lane, Vivian's recordings were MOR affairs that had little chance with contemporary audiences. While her recording career stagnated, she kept singing and as recently as 1996 was part of a Rhythm & Blues Revue with Freda Payne & Bunny Sigler. She has appeared in the top night clubs all over the world; an avid church goer, Vivian is attempting to revitalize her dormant recording career in the gospel field. I included here her complete debut album Vivian Reed with 7 bonus tracks, consisting of some of the sides she recorded for Atco Records in the early-'70s, including 'Save Your Love for Me' and her rendition of Al Green's 'Tired of Being Alone', her two collaborations on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of 1976's Bubbling Brown Sugar ('Sweet Georgia Brown' and 'God Bless the Child'), one cut from her Faith and Fire album, 'The Biggest Mistake', and 'Face to Face', a beautiful song which appears on the OST of the 1983 film L'Africain. (Gracias mil Maxi!!)

Vivian's stunning performance of Sweet Georgia Brown:

I hope you enjoy it! ;-)

SO LONG!!!