Smooth Sailing: Sun, Showers & Soul Music

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Cuddle up and enjoy this new Smooth Sailing part! 😊

Evie Sands began recording as a teenager in the mid-1960s. After a rocky start and having trouble with unreliable record executives who stole her songs, she finally had a hit single with Any Way That You Want Me in 1969. Her debut album, also named Any Way That You Want Me, was released several months after the single had peaked. It took five years before Estate of Mind saw the light of day. Produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, the album marked her continued output as a first class songwriter. After another break, Suspended Animation, was released in 1979. The album's musicians included several members of Toto, Lee Ritenour and Buzz Feiten. The vocalists backing Sands were big names, such as Bobby Kimball, Bill Champlin and on one song, Dusty Springfield. Despite its top-rated personnel and the wonderful performances of Evie herself, Suspended Animation did not make a real chart impact for its single releases. As with her previous album, quite a few of the songs were later covered by other artists. Until this day Evie Sands remains a very underrated singer/songwriter, although she has received more appreciation in recent years, especially in the English Northern soul scene. Last year she released a new album, Get Out Of Your Own Way.

Quite a story about Dane Donohue, the lost prince of yacht rock, on Narratives.com. In 1978 he recorded one of the best yacht rock albums of all-time with the finest musicians around, like Steve Lukather, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, JD Souther, Larry Carlton and Steve Gadd, to name but a few. But when his self-titled LP came out, it was not picked up by a mass audience and it eventually sold only 30,000 copies. Probably the songs were too sophisticated to be played on the radio. Dane Donohue got lost into obscurity and he was even sentenced to 46 months in prison after a business dispute in 2016. He was released during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He no longer wants to be a rock star, but he would love it if someone else recorded one of his songs: "Maybe Michael Bublé..."

Tracklist:

Kris Berry – First Time (2021)
Billy Griffin – Hold Me Tighter in the Rain (1982)
Chaka Khan – Heed The Warning (1981)
Breakwater – Say You Love Me Girl (1986)
Evie  Sands – You Can Do It (1979)
Garfield Fleming ‎– Don't Send Me Away (1981)
The Emotions – Blind Alley (1972)
Valerie Carter – Ooh Child (1977)
Denne &  Gold – Let's Put Our Love Back Together (1977)
The Chi-Lites – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You [Womack Re-Work] (1980)
Ray Parker Jr & Raydio – Tonight's The Night (1980)
Dane Donohue – Woman (1978)
Mac Davis – I’m Just In Love (1976)
Kenny Nolan – You’re So Beautiful Tonight (1979)
Leon Ware – Club Sashay (1979)
Clifford Coulter – Don’t Wanna See You Cry (1980)
Photoglo – Steal Away (1980)
Young Gun Silver Fox – Lenny (2017)
Bobby Womack – Secrets (1981)
Kadhja Bonet – Remember The Rain (2015)