‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ and ‘Your Love Makes Me Crazy’ release through Mr Bongo on July 14th.
Two previously unheard songs from Don Blackman are set to see a physical release in 2023.
During his lifetime the American singer-songwriter and pianist was a fixture of the jazz-funk landscape of the late 1970s and early 1980s before later becoming a name steeped in reverence amongst rare groove connoisseurs coveting his 1982 eponymous solo album Don Blackman. As a collaborator Blackman worked in a studio setting with the likes of Roy Ayers, Weldon Irvine and Lenny White, and performed live with Earth, Wind & Fire and George Clinton’s seminal Parliament-Funkadelic.
Helmed by British independent label Mr Bongo and made possible by the late musician’s children Kyle and Irene Blackman, the newly announced release will bring two previously unheard solo works entitled ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ and ‘Your Love Makes Me Crazy’ to 7” vinyl. The comprising songs are stated to have been culled from an extensive vault of unreleased music that was retrieved and organised by Blackman’s family subsequent to his passing.
Of the events that preceded the selection process for the release Kyle Blackman explains,
“In 2013, shortly after my dad’s passing, my sister and I collected all of his possessions and put them in a storage unit. After 2 years I finally got back into the groove of things and went through the unit. I came across forty years’ worth of music history. Hundreds of cassettes, CDs, Disks, reel-to-reels, paperwork, photos and VHS tapes. It took about ten years to organise and digitise everything. All of this magic was almost thrown away in the trash, never to be seen, never to be heard forever.”
Kyle continues,
“We are very excited and thrilled to continue to share all of this unreleased magic with the world. We hope that this music will help, heal, and inspire a new generation of artists to never give up, and to strive for what their hearts desire.”
Hear an excerpt of each song in advance below.
Say You’ll Be Mine / Your Love Makes Me Crazy releases on July 14th via Mr Bongo. Pre-order the single here.
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
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Fruit and Grooves Collective 