Artist:Brenda Russell f/Joe Esposito
Song:Piano In The Dark
Album:Brenda Russell
Brenda Russell has had plenty of success as a songwriter but Piano In The Dark was her only big hit as a performer. She was born Brenda Gordon Apr. 8, 1949 in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Toronto at age 12. She married Toronto born songwriter musician Brian Russell and they hosted the Canadian TV series Music Machine. They moved to Los Angeles in 1973 to work as session musicians. They made records as a duo for Elton John's Rocket Records. Brian & Brenda split up in 1978. Brian married Cheryl Ladd and Brenda signed with A & M. The 1979 LP Brenda Russell was the first of several albums with producer Andre Fischer. He was married to Natalie Cole at the time and has produced a lot of female R & B singers. Brenda left for Warner Bros. in 1983 but returned to A & M in 1988 and Piano In The Dark was a big hit from the album Get Here. It features Joe Esposito from the group Brooklyn Dreams. He was married to Donna Summer at the time. As a songwriter, Brenda has had several hits but Oleta Adams' version of Get Here was monstrous. She never has to work again after that. This 2000 rerelease of the 1979 LP Brenda Russell throws in Piano In The Dark as a bonus track. It's a great album. These days Brenda Russell's music is categorized as "smooth jazz" but she sounds the same to me. Her most recent CD is 2004's Between The Sun And The Moon on Narada Jazz. Brenda Russell is an underrated performer but you have heard her songs by other artists. Here's the video for Piano In The Dark by Brenda Russell.
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