Eugene Record

We had a very pleasant conversation, I showed him my paintings of Smokey Robinson, Frank Sinatra and (others as seen on my web site) then, which surprised me, Mr. Record called other Chi-Sound staff and recording artists into his office to acknowledge my talent and to prompt his peers to give this young 21 year old kid a chance to at least draft some album covers [you bet I was glowing]. Plus, he personally asked me to produce an oil painting of himself as a gift for his mother [which I did]. And later, he asked me to produce an oil painting of his lovely wife.

Now, even before meeting Mr. Record, I'd always admired his talent ever since noticing his name as the co-writer of Betty Everett's classic slow jam, "There'll Come a Time." Then, after hearing the Chi-Lites "24 Hours of Saddness" and "The Twelfth of Never" I was hooked. People who know me KNOW how much I greatly admire and respect the talent and careers of Smokey Robinson, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, The Dells, The Temptations, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald - BUT, those who REALLY know me KNOW that I EQUALLY value the talent of Mr. Eugene Record. Vocally, Eugene Record's tenor and falsetto voice soared with the best. Musically, I view Eugene Record's music as second to none. I mean it!!! Many people consider Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" as one of the best albums of all time. NOTE: The Chi-Lites "A Lonely Man" requires equal consideration because, back-in-the-day my 8-track player constantly played both albums (and, yes, I still play the CD version). Just listen to "Oh Girl" and "A Lonely Man" and especially, "The Coldest Days of My Life," and, damn, such beauty, such harmony, so much emotion. That's what Eugene Record revealed through his artistry, to the recording studio, and to his live performances.

The last time I spoke to Eugene Record was around 1998 or so. Frankly, I called him because I was concerned that he wasn't credited as the writer on a cover version of his song "Am I The Same Girl" that was released by the British group Swing Out Sister. He told me everything was okay and then went on to calmly say, "Trip, I've been saved!" I was surprised he told me about his intimate connection to God because, out of respect to Mr. Record and to avoid being perceived as a celebrity groupie, I considered our relationship as "business social" and not "personal." Yet, there again was Mr. Record in his very relaxed and cool way telling me about his faith. I smiled internally and thought, "Awesome." He told me he had been recording a religious CD and hoped to release it soon. I followed-up and went directly to Mr. Record's web site [which is still up and running at - [http://www.lethimin.com] and purchased two copies of the CD. It's an excellent CD, which also includes a wonderfully updated (his more personal) version of "There Will Never Be Any Peace."

In each of our lives, hopefully, we meet at least a few extraordinarily talented people. Eugene Record was such a man. In the back of my mind, I always hoped Eugene Record would release another CD before - too long, which may not happen now. Fortunately, I have all of his music, including those three very, very excellent solo albums he released on Warner Brothers back in the late 1970s. I hope, I really hope Warner re-releases all of these albums and that Mr. Record's estate sees fit to release his previously unreleased recordings. Eugene Record wrote such positive songs ["Let Me Be the Man My Daddy Was"], and songs of hope ["(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People"], and of great despair ["A Letter To Myself"], and songs of joy [Hot On A Thing (Called Love)].

Eugene Record died way ahead of his time, but let's never, never ever forget his artistry!

Please, immediately go out and buy his music!

EPILOGE: August 30, 2020

Here's a beautiful example of beautiful music by Eugene Record, "Mother of Love"

This is worth repeating, a song written by Eugene Record, which is missing from much of today's music, is how a man genuinely feels about the woman he loves . . .

Hot On A Thing (Called Love)

Why was I attracted to you
Tell me what man wouldn't be attracted to you, you
What could you do no other woman could do
I didnt know until I found out the truth

And Im hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me ever loving (Hot-hot-hot-hot) hot on a thing
Girl, Im boilin over, baby (Hot-hot-hot-hot), on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love

Im hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot, so (Hot-hot-hot-hot) hot on a thing
And Im really burnin, baby, hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love, oh, love

You smiled at me, to be polite I smiled at you (Baby, when you smile)
Something in your eyes said, Wait cause Im not through
So I stood there in a high kind of way (Baby, when you smile)
And I havent come down till this very day

And Im hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me ever loving (Hot-hot-hot-hot) hot on a thing
Oh...oh...oh...hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love

Im hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
Oh...oh...oh...hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love, oh, love

Im hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me burnin, baby, hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love

(Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
Im really burnin, baby, hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing, on a thing
On a thing called love, oh, love

(Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing
You got me hot so hot (Hot-hot-hot-hot) on a thing