George Duke

(1986)

This LP was kind of bold. It is a cross between tunes with big drums that are kind of jazzy and funky at the same time; and Pop/R&B tunes.

"Broken Glass" actually became a little bit of an underground dance hit. Except for Kevin Chokin on guitar, it was all played on the Synclavier. Kind of funky though!!

I really thought "Good Friend" was going to be a hit record. I mean, with Jeffrey Osborne, Stephanie Mills, Irene Cara, Joyce Kennedy, Kenny Loggins and Deniece Williams sharing the lead vocals, what would you expect. It's a nice song with a positive message, at a time when these kinds of records were really selling. In the end, I truly believe that Elektra dropped the ball on this one.

Overall, this is a much better record than Thief. I've remembered that I am an instrumentalist who sings a little for orchestration and variety, and not afraid to use real singers when necessary.

"So Mean To Me" was originally written for a movie called Heavenly Kid. The movie only lasted a week at theatres, but the soundtrack I produced was really pretty good.

"Stand With Your Man" reunited my old band for a funk delight. In fact the record is basically the same rhythm section I'd used for years. A new guy in LA (now with Diana Ross) Kevin Chokin fills the guitar chair. He's quite funky!! Also Paul Jackson and Michael Landau appear on the CD.

"King For A Day" is lead by Howard Hewett who is such a great singer!

"The Morning, You & Love," I also thought had a shot at garnering some radio play, but alas, this was not to be. In the end, timing is everything. This song was written in the style of "Sweet Baby," but the Gods of radio were into a different vibe by that time and this record slipped through the cracks.

"I Can Make It Better" was sung by Robert Brookins and Sue Ann Carwell. You might remember Robert from working as second keyboard player with Clarke/Duke. He is now with Earth, Wind Fire. The year was 1986.

"African Violet" became a record hit at Wave Radio. If features my cousin Dianne Reeves.

This CD, though basically a nice record, was not the success we were looking for. By the way, Erik Zobler was the engineer for this CD. He is still my engineer today.

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