Ronnie Dyson CD

RONNIE DYSON:  Phase 2/Brand New Day. CD

• Ronnie Dyson First Gained Fame at the Age of 18 by Singing “Aquarius” in the Famed Broadway Musical Hair 

• Neither of His Two Albums for the Cotillion Label, Phase 2 and Brand New Day, Have Ever Been on CD 

• Phase 2 Features Production by Bobby Eli 

• Brand New Day Features Production by Butch Ingram 

• Includes the R&B Hits “Bring It On Home” and “All Over Your Face” 

• Liner Notes by Renowned American Journalist Roshod Ollison 

• Worldwide CD Debuts for Both Albums 

The late Ronnie Dyson (1950-1990) began his career when he landed a lead role in the famed Broadway musical Hair, singing “Aquarius” (the song most associated with the show) at the age of eighteen.  

 Signed to Columbia Records in 1968, Dyson continued his stage career in Salvation, achieving his first chart single with the US Top 10 with “(If You Let Me Make Love to You) Why Can’t I Touch You” from the show.  The young singer then cut a cover version of The Delfonics’ “When You Get Right Down to It,”—produced and co-written by Thom Bell—which became a Top 40 R&B US hit and a Top 40 UK charted single.  In the wake of its success, Columbia teamed Dyson with Bell and the result was the 1973 best-selling album One Man Band, the title track for which was another pop and soul hit for the Washington, DC native. After recording a number of singles and three more albums for Columbia, Ronnie signed with Cotillion Records in 1982, teaming up with producer Bobby Eli to record Phase 2.  For the occasion, Eli used top-notch New York musicians including drummer Yogi Horton, guitarist Doc Powell, bassist Francisco Centenato and keyboardist Ray Chew, along with famed MSFB arranger/conductor Don Renaldo’s strings and arrangements by Richie Rome and Eli.  The album included a revival of the Gamble & Huff-penned Soul Survivors’ 1967 hit, “Expressway to Your Heart” and the double-sided R&B charted single, “Heart to Heart” and “Bring It on Home.”

 In 1983, Ronnie teamed up with another renowned Philadelphia producer, Butch Ingram, for his final Cotillion album, Brand New Day.  Recorded in Philly with members of the Ingram family, the eight-song set focused on a mix of dance-oriented material (“You Better Be Fierce”), ballads (“Tender Loving Care” and “I Gave You All of Me”), a duet with premier Philly background vocalist Barbara Ingram on “Let the Love Begin,” and spawned Ronnie’s final Top 30 R&B charted single, “All Over Your Face.” 

 This Real Gone Music reissue in association with SoulMusic Records marks the worldwide CD debut for both albums, featuring liner notes by noted American journalist Roshod Ollison.

SONGS:

1. Phase 2
2. Bring It On Home
3. Heart to Heart
4. One More Chance for the Fool
5. Say You Will
6. Expressway to Your Heart
7. Now
8. Even in the Darkest Night
9. Foreplay
10. I Found Someone
11. Brand New Day
12. All Over Your Face
13. Let the Love Begin
14. Don’t Need You Now
15. Waiting for You
16. Tender Loving Care
17. I Just Need a Little More Lovin’
18. I Gave You All of Me
19. You Better Be Fierce