Every Tuesday, the Analog Kid blog goes back in time and features some of the best groovy R&B/soul songs from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Sometimes you’ll hear songs from individual artists or from a specific year, and other times you’ll get an entire full-length classic LP ripped directly from the Analog Kid’s vast vinyl vault. Warning: by R&B/soul, I also mean disco. I could go all KC & The Sunshine Band on your ass at any given moment, so just be ready!
Maxine Nightingale went as high as #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April of 1976 with “Right Back Where We Started From,” and she was probably just as surprised as anyone. After the initial recording sessions, she hated the track and wanted it released under a pseudonym. Maxine eventually relented and allowed the use of her real name, and her reward was a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
When “Right Back Where We Started From” began its climb up the UK charts in 1975, Nightingale quickly started work on an entire album. The resulting record was a great showcase for her powerful voice, developed during years of stage performances in musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. I am especially fond of her soulful take on John Lennon’s “Bless You,” a deep cut from his 1974 album Walls And Bridges.
Of course, Nightingale would return to the Top 10 in 1979 with the classic ballad “Lead Me On.” I featured that album on a Groovy Tuesday last November, and you can check it out here:
https://theanalogkidblog.com/2013/11/26/groovy-tuesday-lead-me-on-edition/
Trivia time: two different songs occupied the Billboard #1 slot while “Right Back Where We Started From” sat at #2 in April of 1976. What were those two songs? Check out the bonus tracks for the answer!
And yes, I owned all 3 45’s!
Maxine Nightingale: Right Back Where We Started From
United Artists Records, 1976
1. “(I Think I Wanna) Possess You” (Moore)
2. “Bless You” (Lennon)
3. “Right Back Where We Started From” (Tubbs/Edwards)
Right Back Where We Started From
4. “In Love We Grow” (Belfield)
5. “Gotta Be The One” (Tubbs)
6. “One Last Ride” (Tubbs)
7. “Reasons” (White/Stepney)
8. “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” (Ware/Sawyer)
9. “Love Enough” (Moore)
10. “You Got The Love” (Parker, Jr./Kahn)
11. “Life Has Just Begun” (G. Nightingale)
12. “Everytime I See A Butterfly” (Barge, Jr.)
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
John Lennon: “Bless You” (Lennon)
From the album Walls And Bridges
Capitol Records, 1974
Bellamy Brothers: “Let Your Love Flow” (Williams)
From the album Bellamy Brothers
Curb/Warner Brothers Records, 1976
John Sebastian: “Welcome Back” (Sebastian)
From the album Welcome Back
Reprise Records, 1976
Maxine Nightingale: “Lead Me On” (Willis/Lasley)
From the album Lead Me On
Windsong Records, 1979
The Analog Kid 