Wendy Moten is a gifted r&b singer born in Memphis, TN. Although blessed with a beautiful voice, Ms. Moten only released a handful of solo records in her 20-plus years career and never reached the level of success that her impressive vocal skills deserve.

She has toured with big acts like Julio Iglesias and Martina McBride plus her vocals can be heard on albums by stars including Michael McDonald, Kirk Whalum, Michael Bolton, Larry Carlton, the late Al Jarreau (1940 to 2017), Eric Clapton, Peabo Bryson, Kenny Rogers and Alice Cooper. Ms. Moten was an eclectic artist at ease singing pop, rock, r&b or jazz.

In 1995, Ms. Moten released her sophomore cd titled, Time For Change. Those were the years of the huge success of superstars like the late Whitney Houston (1963 to 2012), Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Quite unavoidably, Time For Change  went in that same direction with a blend of sophisticated r&b and elegant adult contemporary music. Many big producers were enlisted to work on the record including David Foster who crafted two tracks. The Hitman took from his vaults the gorgeous “All That My Heart Can Hold,” originally an evocative instrumental co-written with Jeremy Lubbock, and enriched by Linda Thompson’s perfect lyrics. “All That My Heart Can Hold” became a true showstopper and one of the highlights of Time For Change. The second Foster production was the big ballad, “Your Love Is All I Know.” Composed by hit songwriters Jud Friedman and Allan Rich with r&b singer Chris Walker, “Your Love Is All I Know” had hit written all over it. Everything was perfectly crafted for top 40 radios and charts. The grand arrangement by Foster based on tasteful keyboards and a lush orchestra was on the same level of his chart-topping work on The Bodyguard  while Ms. Moten’s vocal performance was top-notch, belting out all the right “money notes.” “Your Love Is All I Know” did become a hit in Japan where the whole album was a solid success, but, unfortunately, neither the song nor Time For Change  charted in Europe or North America. Take a listen to “Your Love Is All I Know” to enjoy its adult pop perfection. Surf the archives to read a past review of Ms. Moten’s “All That My Heart Can Hold.”

Listen

Lead Vocals: Wendy Moten
Keyboards & Bass: David Foster
Guitar: Michael Thompson
Synclavier & Drums Programming: Simon Franglen

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

In my mind
I only see your face
And time will not erase
What I feel for you, feel for you
In my heart
It was always you and me
That’s how I thought it would be
Forever and ever
Where do I go
What do I do
After all that we’ve been through
How do I turn around
Just turn around and watch you go
“Cause baby your love is all I know
The touch of your hand
The warmth of your embrace
I always had a placehere in your arms
I felt so secureI didn’t need anything more
Where do I go
What do I do
After all that we’ve been through
How do I turn around
Just turn around and watch you go
“Cause baby your love is all I know
Tell me how
Can you walk away and find somebody new,
Somebody new, somebody new
When I can’t see myself with anyone but you
Where do I go
What do I do
After all that we’ve been through
How do I turn around
Just turn around and watch you go
“Cause baby your love is all I know

“Grown-up Christmas List,” composed by David Foster and Linda Thompson, is one of the true modern-day Christmas classics together with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas,” co-written by Foster’s pal Walter Afanasieff, and Wham’s perennial hit, “Last Christmas,” written and sung by the late George Michael (1963-2016). Foster originally recorded “Grown-up Christmas List” in 1990 with the late Natalie Cole (1950-2015) for his solo River Of Love album. That first version was also included in Foster’s 1993 The Christmas Album.

Christian pop star Amy Grant sang the first significant cover of the song with the title slightly changed into “My Grown-up Christmas List” in 1992. Ms. Grant’s rendition included another verse that she wrote herself and became one of the most successful takes of the song, it became a Top 20 hit on the Christian Digital Songs chart back in 2011. Other notable covers of “Grown-up Christmas List” have been performed by Barbra Streisand, Kelly Clarkson, who reached the Top Twenty Adult Contemporary with her 2003 cover, Aretha Franklin, The Manhattan Transfer, Dave Koz, Luis Miguel, Jane Monheit and Bryan Duncan. Foster himself produced new versions of “Grown-up Christmas List” for the likes of Michael Bublé, Charice and Jordan Smith. Both Bublé’s and Charice’s renditions can be found in the archives. Every Christmas arrives and brings a new interpretations of “Grown-up Christmas List.” This year, for example, the legendary Patti Labelle performed the song with great passion on her festive Home For The Holidays with Friends cd, but the best surprise came with a gorgeous jazz rendition of “Grown-up Christmas List” by the Fabrizio Bosso Quartet.

The Italian Mr. Bosso is one of Europe’s premiere trumpet players and has just released a festive cd titled, Merry Christmas Baby. This jazz arrangement of the trademark Foster melody is sublime. The song in the hands of such skilled jazz musicians goes in a different direction that takes you to a new place and reaffirms the evocative power of good music. Bosso’s partners on the track include Julian Oliver Mazzariello on piano, Jacopo Ferrazza on the double bass and Nicola Angelucci on drums. This beautiful cover of “Grown-up Christmas List” confirms the quality of this song. Check out Merry Christmas Baby by the Fabrizio Bosso Quartet for a unique spin on many holiday classics. Enjoy the music….. and Happy Holidays!

Listen

Trumpet: Fabrizio Bosso
Acoustic Piano: Julian Oliver Mazzariello
Double Bass: Jacopo Ferrazza
Drums: Nicola Angelucci

Lyrics

No Lyrics

“Come To Me” was an evocative ballad recorded by the legendary Aretha Franklin for her 1980 Aretha album. Aretha was Ms. Franklin’s debut with Clive Davis’ Arista Records label. That record featured the Queen Of Soul into an updated, pop-oriented, glossy sound that was achieved with the help of some of the hottest LA session cats including David Foster playing keyboards and synthesizers on a few tracks.

“Come To Me” was written by late songwriter Gene Price (1944-2013) and produced by the late, great Arif Mardin (1932-2006) that gave the intense ballad fuel for a powerful melody that fit Ms. Franklin’s unmistakable voice like a glove. The great musical interplay between David Paich of Toto fame on piano and Foster on electric piano gave the song a sophisticated feel and radio friendly atmosphere enhanced by the catchy arrangement written by Mardin.  The late super-producer spoke to renowned music journalist David Ritz for the book “Respect: The Life Of Aretha Franklin.” Here is what was said about “Come To Me” and the “Aretha” album:

“Aretha and Clive were very clear in that they wanted this record to have a certain sheen. They didn’t want the old Atlantic sound. They came to me with four songs. The one the liked the most was ‘Come To Me,’ a big ballad that had the resonance of a movie theme. Aretha was very specific about the musicians. She read Billboard and knew exactly who was hot and who wasn’t. Toto was extremely hot back then, and, at Aretha’s urging, I used three of their members, David Paich on piano, Jeff Porcaro on drums and Steve Lukather on guitar. I employed a young David Foster to play synths. I borrowed bassist Louis Johnson from the Brothers Johnson, another hot group….in addition to the ballad, I was asked to produce two covers, Otis Redding’s “Can’t Turn You Loose” and The Doobie Brothers’ ‘What A Fool Believes,’ and the slightly funky ‘Love Me Forever.’”

“Come To Me” was the third single off the album, released in May 1981. The ballad, with its noteworthy musicality and Ms. Franklin’s superb vocals, became a minor hit. ‘Come To Me’ reached #89 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and #39 on the r&b singles chart. The fact that both Ms. Franklin and Clive Davis believed in the strength of this song is confirmed by the fact that the same version of ‘Come To Me’ was released again on her 1989 record Through The Storm.” “Come To Me” was also the b-side of the title-track, a Top 20 hit duet with UK superstar Sir Elton John. Another stand-out track from Aretha was the delicious funky cover of “What A Fool Believes.” Check out our past reviews of that goodie in our archives.

Listen

Lead & Backing Vocals: Aretha Franklin
Bass: Louis Johnson
Drums: Jeff Porcaro
Electric Piano & Synthesizer: David Foster
Percussion: Steve Forman
Acoustic Piano: David Paich
Backing Vocals: Edie Lehman, Marti McCall, Myrna Mathews

Produced & Arranged by Arif Mardin

Lyrics

You’re asking me to
Understand your feelings
To just forget about my own
And let you go

Darling, I won’t
Raise a hand to stop you
Just let me say one thing
Before you go

Come to me
Whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand
And there I’ll be
My love will light your
Way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love
Come to me

I believe that time alone
Will change you
The changing tides
Will bring you back to me

And when you grow tired
Of chasing rainbows
Just make a wish for love
And there I’ll be

Come to me
Whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand
And there I’ll be
My love will light your
Way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love
Come to me

Ooh, come to me
Whenever you get lonely
(Come to me, baby)
Just reach out your hand
And there I’ll be
Yeah, yeah, yeah

My love will light your
Way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love
Come to me, sweet baby

Come to me
Whenever you get lonely

Log on to kill this message.

(Oh, yeah, come to me, baby)
Just reach out your hand
(Reach out, reach out)
And there I’ll be

My love will light your
Way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love
Come to me

(If you ever get lonely)
Come to me
Whenever you get lonely
Just reach out your hand
And there I’ll be
(Reach out for me)
(Sweet baby, I’ll be there)

My love will light your
Way out of the darkness
If you ever need a true love
Come to me, yeah

“It’s Something” was a soul/pop composition co-written by David Foster with singer/songwriter Brenda Russell around 1980. This breezy mid-tempo was one of the most successful songs of Foster’s early repertoire. Through the years, “It’s Something” has been sung by Ms. Russell, r&b singer Leslie Smith and the fabulous Lalah Hathaway who recorded it twice and even received a 2014 Grammy for her sublime, soul/jazz rendition on Snarky Puppy’s Family Dinner – Volume 1cd. The first version of “It’s Something” belongs to the underrated, r&b singer Donna Washington who cut the tune in 1981 for her Going For The Glow album.

Ms. Washington released three records between 1980 and 1982, but never made it big on the charts. The Los Angeles-born vocalist had a great voice with a two-octave mezzo soprano range that should have put her in the same league as other r&b stars including Angela Bofill and the late Natalie Cole (February 6, 1950 to December 31, 2015). Ms. Washington’s second album was Going For The Glow . It was released on Capitol Records and produced by Chuck Jackson of Aretha Franklin, Phyllis Hyman and Natalie Cole fame. Going For The Glow was a solid effort of the most elegant funky/soul music played by some of the hottest session aces of that era. Among the musicians were Nathan East on bass, James Gadson on drums, Paul Jackson. Jr. on guitar and Patrice Rushen on keyboards. The tracklist included material co-written by the crème de la crème of pop/soul tunesmiths including the late Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 to July 1, 2005), David Lasley, Allee Willis and Michael Wycoff. Other than “It’s Something,” Ms. Russell wrote the classy title-track while Vandross and Lasley co-wrote the energetic funky anthem, “’Scuse Me While I Fall In Love.” Going For The Glow also presented a nice cover of Pablo Cruise’s “I Want You Tonight” and a great rendition of a Willis/Lasley ballad recorded by Patti Labelle a couple of years earlier titled “I See Home.”

Ms. Washington’s version of “It’s Something” was one of the highlights on the Going For The Glowalbum. The crystal-clear vocal performance and top-notch instrumental track fit the song’s jazzy atmosphere and brilliant musical progression perfectly. Great additions were the brilliant string and horn arrangements by Johnny Pate and the smooth backing vocals. Jackson’s production was as good as it gets when it comes to this kind of refined soul music with quality pop overtones. Listening to “It’s Something” and the whole parent album still make us wonder why it didn’t become a major hit. This is a good chance to rediscover and appreciate Ms. Washington’s tasteful vocals singing one of Foster’s most soulful compositions. If interested, there are past reviews of both Ms. Hathaway’s and Ms. Russell’s versions in the archives.

Listen

Lead & Backing Vocals: Donna Washington
Bass: Ready-Freddie Washington & Nathan East
Drums: James Gadson & Leon (Ndugu) Chancler
Guitar: Paul Jackson, Jr., E.J. Mitchell & Michael McGloiry
Keyboards: John Barnes, Nick Johnson, Patrice Rushen & Tony Coleman
Percussion: Chuck Jackson, Mike Boddicker & Paulinho Da Costa
Synthesizer: Mike Boddicker & Tony Coleman
Backing Vocals: Chuck Jackson, Julia Waters Tillman, Maxine Waters Willard, Nick Johnson, Oren Waters, Rodney-Wayne & Tony Coleman

Arranged by Chuck Jackson & Tony Coleman
Strings & Horns arranged by Johnny Pate
Produced by Chuck Jackson

Lyrics

Oo Oo Oo, it’s something
You and I have something
How I long to be around when
(When you can see that)
You and I have something

In Common, oh, oh it’s something
(You better believe it)
And I’m sure of one thing
How I Long to be around when
(When you can see that)
You and I have something

In common, it’s been a revelation yeah
You’ve been an inspiration to me
And there’s not one question no
Where my heart will run to

Oo Oo Oo, it’s something
(You better believe it)
You and I have something
I don’t want to lose this fun thing
(I hope you can see that)
Cause you and I have something

In Common
I can’t believe we’ve been so blind
Looks like we’ve wasted so much time
There’s not a note that rings untrue
Said when I’m with you

Ooh-wee-ooh-wee-ooh
Wee-ooh-wee-ooh
Oh, you and I have something
In Common uh uh
It’s something
Whoa, you and I got something
We got something, babe
In Common
It’s something!

“She’s Out Of My Life” was a poignant ballad written by Tom Bahler and popularized by the late Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 to June 25, 2009) on his 1979 Off The Wall album. Bahler wrote this gorgeous song after the end of a long relationship. Quincy Jones said that he initially wanted to record the song with the late Frank Sinatra (December 12, 1915 to May 14, 1998), but eventually cut it with Jackson who gave a very emotional performance that immediately made “She’s Out Of My Life” a classic.

The intimate, nocturne mood was a far cry from the upbeat, happy atmospheres on the rest of Off The Wall. “She’s Out Of My Life” was the fourth single from the record and became another Top Ten Single for the now-deceased King Of Pop. David Foster was among the top-notch sidemen appearing on Off The Wall. He played on it and even co-wrote “It’s The Falling In Love” with Carole Bayer-Sager.

Fast forward to 2003 and Foster was working with Josh Groban on the superstar’s sophomore recording eventually titled Closer. The two selected material for the album and decided to cut a new version of “She’s Out Of My Life.” The Hitman said that he immediately called Bahler to communicate their idea to the songwriter and his response was a happy and excited one. Beautifully sung by Groban and masterfully played, arranged and produced by Foster, “She’s Out Of My Life” was included in the special edition of that six-times platinum certified cd. Groban’s rendition keeps the emotional power of Jackson’s original thanks to the singer’s heartfelt performance and the warm orchestral arrangement courtesy of Foster. Foster’s piano plays a sweet counterpart to Groban’s voice. “She’s Out Of My Life” captured the essence of the collaboration between Groban and Foster. It was traditional pop at its best; delivered by one of pop’s most distinctive voices of this generation and directed by one of the true geniuses in popular music.

Listen

Lead Vocals: Josh Groban
Piano & Bass: David Foster
Synthesizer Programming: Neil Devor

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

She’s out of my life
She’s out of my life
And I don’t know whether to laugh or cry
I don’t know whether to live or die
And it cuts like a knife
She’s out of my life

It’s out of my hands
It’s out of my hands
To think for two years she was here
And I took her for granted I was so cavalier
Now the way that it stands
She’s out of my hands

So I’ve learned that love’s not possession
And I’ve learned that love won’t wait
Now I’ve learned that love needs expression
But I learned too late

And she’s out of my life
She’s out of my life
Damned indecision and cursed pride
Kept my love for her locked deep inside
And it cuts like a knife
She’s out of my life