I watched the latest Unsung on Will Downing. I thought it was good, didn't know about his health scare, which was a surprise. I think he has one of the most gifted voices in music. Sorry I, is my favorite. What do you think?
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I watched the latest Unsung on Will Downing. I thought it was good, didn't know about his health scare, which was a surprise. I think he has one of the most gifted voices in music. Sorry I, is my favorite. What do you think?
I thought it was a good episode. Other than seeing him opening for Patti LaBelle a few years back, I am not really all that familiar with Will and his work. I knew a little about his health problems but not details about his life and career prior to it. So it was nice to be introduced to him.
On the whole, the most recent batches of UNSUNG have included many artists that I am not familiar with. At first, I was rather disappointed when I would see a list of the upcoming profiles. But I have been pleasantly surprised when watching most of them. Even if I didn't become a new fan, most of them have very interesting stories to tell.
I think the artists such as Will, the ones that kinda fly under the radar are what Unsung should be about. A great artist such as B.B. King, I would think doesn't fit that criteria. I mean, B.B. is arguably the greatest blues man ever. How is he categorized as Unsung? I'm having a problem understanding what constitutes a artist being that.
Will is a vocal jazz artist. Those artists are usually under the mainstream radar. I kinda followed Will because I used to watch BET religiously as a kid and they'd show him all the time on Midnight Love. He covered Angela Bofill's I Try and that's how I knew him. He also did a great cover of Marvin's You Sure Love to Ball.
And if you were a '90s R&B kid like I was, you'd know of this song he did with Rachelle Ferrell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7rrJYcok0c
I watched the episode and really enjoyed it. Will Downing is the definition of Unsung. The first time that I ever heard of him was in the 90's. He opened up for Regina Belle and I had never heard of him. He had me on the edge of my seat and out of my seat. That very next day I went out and purchased his "A Dream Fulfilled" cd. I've been a fan every since. The one thing that the episode failed to mention was this great duet with Rachelle Ferrell that midnightman posted. This song received a lot of airplay, probably more than any of Will's other songs. Other than that it was a refreshing episode in a season that has been less than spectacular.
Will was a big favorite of mine since I heard his version of A Love Supreme.
His last few albums have been rather bland and I prefer his older material
Great episode.
But I'm MAD they didn't cover the Rachelle Ferrell duet. That was one of the biggest urban adult contemporary hits of 1992-93 and they didn't mention it though I do know Rachelle has been having mad issues the last several years [[mainly her eccentricities). But still it was a huge event in Will's career as well as Rachelle's and they didn't mention it. Waste.
Still it was pretty good and he's recovered BEAUTIFULLY from his health issues!
Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
I concur Midnightman. I didn't know that George Duke produced that album. Learn something new everyday. George Duke was a fave as well....
Will's early albums put him on a par with Luther in my opinion. He had Luther's gift of covering a song and giving it a total makeover and making it his own. I saw him in concert a couple of times. He was quite popular here in the UK in the late 80's and early 90's. He moved into a more smooth jazz field for his later albums, and i think they lacked the magic of the first four or five, but those early albums are real gems and should be checked out by those who are largely unfamiliar with his work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid
I recall his health scare. Thankfully he made a reasonable recovery. He was also a really nice guy with his feet firmly on the grounded. I must catch up with this particular episode. Thank you for alerting me to it Cincinnati Kid.
The duet with Rachelle Ferrell was FIRE, and I can't believe they did not mention it or maybe it was left on the cutting floor. I also love Will's cover of "Crazy and "I Try." I saw Will when he opened for Gladys Knight and he really put on a great show.Quote:
Originally Posted by glencro
His cover of Deniece Williams' "Free" was my favorite song for a couple of months 30 years ago. Such a fresh sound in the midst of synths, samplers, drum machines and one-man bands that were invading every genre of music at that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pQc50Dwq_Y
Honestly I love the fact this man did songs originally made by women and wasn't scared to put his own interpretation in them. Like Luther, like Johnny, etc., he was not afraid to GO THERE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4VAp6CN0x0
Will's first debut album was amazing, was great to interview him, albums that followed first kept up his true talent, I have ever album he has released but I worry the last few albums are not as dynamic, something seems missing.
^ Maybe he's just getting old and complacent. He's obviously not fighting for his place in music history [[I think it's secure, he's an R&B/jazz legend despite being sorely underrated) or money [[the house I saw him in Unsung looks NICE AF).
Like Luther and Al Jarreau, he has the ability to put inflection on every note. I admire that in singers and find that most can't do it. That's why producers are now recording many takes of songs and cutting and pasting the best snippets into the final version.Quote:
Originally Posted by midnightman
You're more than welcome Bluebrock...Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock