Song:Easy Lover
Album:Soul Hits Of The 80's
Of course Philip Bailey is best known as the lead singer of Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF). But he also had a top five pop hit with Easy Lover in 1984. It has been his only significant solo hit. He was born May 8, 1951 in Denver and joined EWF in 1972. He has been an integral part of their success. When they faded in the early 80s, Bailey signed a solo record deal with Columbia. His 1982 solo debut Continuation was produced by George Duke. It did OK but when EWF went on hiatus in 1983, Columbia wanted Bailey's next album to have more of a pop feel. So Phil Collins was hired to produce. It didn't hurt that Collins was one of the hottest pop artists in the world at the time. Easy Lover was the only song on the album that was written by Bailey and Collins. Bassist Nathan East also got a songwriting credit. Easy Lover reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album Chinese Wall reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 200. Instead of recording another pop album, Bailey turned to gospel with Word Records' Myrrh label. At the time, Word had a working agreement with Columbia. He recorded two gospel albums and then recorded with Collins again on the 1986 album Inside Out. It didn't sell. After one more gospel album in 1989, Bailey left Columbia. You can get Easy Lover on this 3CD various artists budget comp. Since then Bailey has continued with Earth, Wind & Fire and recorded solo periodically including a couple of jazz albums. He last recorded solo in 2002 but he has a four song EP coming out. Here's the video for Easy Lover by Philip Bailey featuring Phil Collins.
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