Randy Crawford

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Randy Crawford

Background information
Birth name Veronica Crawford
Born February 18, 1952 (1952-02-18) (age 56)
Macon, Georgia, United States
Genre(s) Jazz, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Vocals

Randy Crawford (born Veronica Crawford, February 18, 1952, in Macon, Georgia), is a jazz and R&B singer.

Contents

[edit] Career

Crawford first polished her craft at club gigs from Cincinnati to Saint-Tropez, but made her name in mid 1970s in New York, where she sang with jazzmen George Benson and Cannonball Adderley. Along the way she has rubbed elbows with Bootsy Collins, Johnny Bristol, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau and others.

She then led R&B veterans The Crusaders on the transatlantic big hit "Street Life" (1979). This song stayed atop the U.S. jazz chart for twenty weeks and has since become both a rare groove and disco classic, and appeared in commercials in the early 2000s. Her follow up solo efforts included "One Day I'll Fly Away" (1980, Grand Prize for Tokyo International Music Festival and UK #1); "You Might Need Somebody" (1981); and "Rainy Night in Georgia" (1981); which all became soul standards. The album, Secret Combination (1981) stayed on the Billboard album chart for sixty weeks, after which her profile dipped, despite a return to the Top Ten with "Almaz" in 1986.

Naked And True (1995) brought Crawford back to her roots: it included Benson's "Give Me The Night", and confirmed her soul heritage by featuring Funkadelicists Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and The Fred Wesley Horns. But she enjoyed her highest profile of the decade when rising starlet, Shola Ama, had a worldwide hit with her 1997 cover of "You Might Need Somebody".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Hit Singles

The following singles charted in various countries.

Year Song title USA R&B UK Top 75 NL Top 40 SE Top 20 Album
1979 "Street Life" (With The Crusaders) 17 5 13 8 Street Life
1980 "Same Old Story (Same Old Song)" 34 - 23 - Now We May Begin
1980 "Last Night At Danceland" 68 61 - - Now We May Begin
1980 "One Day I'll Fly Away" - 2 1 - Now We May Begin
1981 "People Alone (Love Theme from "The Competition)" - - 25 - The Competition
1981 "When I Lose My Way" 58 - - - Secret Combination
1981 "You Might Need Somebody" - 11 - - Secret Combination
1981 "Rainy Night In Georgia" - 18 17 - Secret Combination
1981 "Secret Combination" 70 48 - - Secret Combination
1982 "Imagine" (Live) 69 60 - 15 Casino Lights
1982 "One Hello" 50 48 35 - Windsong
1982 "Look Who's Lonely Now" 68 - - - Windsong
1982 "Your Precious Love" (Live) - With Al Jarreau 16 - - - Casino Lights
1982 "Give Peace A Chance" (Live) - - - 6 Windsong
1983 "He Reminds Me" - 65 - - Windsong
1983 "Nightline" 28 51 19 15 Nightline
1986 "Can't Stand The Pain" 58 - - - Abstract Emotions
1986 "Desire" 90 - - - Abstract Emotions
1986 "Almaz" - 4 - - Abstract Emotions
1989 "Knocking On Heaven's Door" (Featuring Eric Clapton & David Sanborn) 4 77 10 - Rich and Poor
1990 "Wrap-U-Up" 15 - - - Rich and Poor
1990 "I Don't Feel Much Like Crying" 16 - - - Rich and Poor
1990 "Cigarette In The Rain" 38 - - - Rich and Poor
1992 "Diamante" (With Zucchero) - 44 - - Through The Eyes Of Love
1992 "Who's Crying Now" (Featuring Joe Sample) 30 - - - Through The Eyes Of Love
1992 "A Lot That You Can Do" 74 - - - Through The Eyes Of Love
1996 "Give Me The Night" 47 60 - - Naked and True
1996 "Cajun Moon" 65 - - - Naked and True
1998 "Bye Bye" 49 (Air) - - - Every Kind Of Mood
1998 "Silence" 76 - - - Every Kind Of Mood

[edit] Albums

  • Everything Must Change (1976)
  • Miss Randy Crawford (1977)
  • Raw Silk (1979)
  • Now We May Begin (1980)
  • Secret Combination (1981)
  • Windsong (1982)
  • Nightline (1983)
  • Abstract Emotions (1986)
  • Rich and Poor (1989)
  • Through the Eyes of Love (1992)
  • Don't Say It's Over (1993)
  • Naked and True (1995)
  • Every Kind of Mood: Randy, Randi, Randee (1997)
  • Play Mode (aka Permanent) (2000)
  • Feeling Good (with Joe Sample) (2006)

[edit] Compilations

  • The Competition (1980, soundtrack, Oscar nominated theme song "People Alone")
  • Sharky's Machine (1981 soundtrack, new version of "Street Life")
  • Greatest Hits (1984)
  • Wildcats (1986 soundtrack, song "Don't Wanna Be Normal")
  • Love Songs (1987)
  • The Very Best of Randy Crawford (1993)
  • Best of Randy Crawford (1996)
  • Jackie Brown (1997, soundtrack, "Street Life" - Sharky's Machine newer version)
  • Best of Randy Crawford and Friends (2000)
  • Love Songs: The Very Best of Randy Crawford (2000)
  • Hits (2002)
  • The Ultimate Collection (2005)
  • Pop-Jazz Volume One (2006)

[edit] Awards

Feeling Good. Up for Grammy Nomination.

[edit] Guest Appearances

[edit] Abbey Road

Randy Crawford recorded a live session with Joe Sample on 24th July 2007 at Abbey Road Studios for Live From Abbey Road. The episode she shared with David Gilmour and Amos Lee was screened on the Sundance Channel in the USA and Channel 4 in the UK.

[edit] References

[edit] External links