14
15
lead vocals by Shirley Goodman (previously of
the
Let The Good Times Roll
duo Shirley and Lee);
Shirley and Company had a #1 R&B hit with
Shame
Shame Shame
in January of 1975 and several
follow-up singles capitalizing on the same lyrical
theme. At the same time, Alvarez released four
solo singles on the Robinsons’ Vibration label (the
first one simply crediting ’Jesus’). Alvarez also
produced, and was possibly a member of, a couple
Latin soul flavored groups on other labels – he
produced two singles by the Nicky Newarkers on
Mercury in 1975/1976 and produced a single by a
group called The Willow Band for Epic Records in
1976. Given his clear talent and the lack of infor-
mation on him, Alvarez was probably involved in
other recordings throughout his career.
Alvarez produced one final solo single on himself
for Polydor Records in 1977 – Polydor 14381
Sooner
Or Later / The Lord’s Prayer
. The record has a nice
uptempo pop / disco / soul sound; Alvarez’ lead
is supplemented with backing vocals and typical
disco backing instrumentation. The single failed to
gain any commercial or radio success. I’m unaware
of any other work Alvarez did in the music industry
after the failure of this last single.
8. PETE WARNER:
I JUST WANT TO SPEND MY LIFE WITH YOU
(Patrick Adams-Denise Harris)
Pete Warner ultimately became an accomplished
New York writer and producer; however, in 1975 he
was just starting his music career and released his
only solo recordings,
I Just Want To Spend My Life
With You / Hands
, on Polydor 14278. The record
was produced by legendary New York producer
Patrick Adams.
Adams had been producing music since at least
1970, when he worked with Black Ivory and other
artists at Perception / Today Records. However,
some of his most important work as a producer
was helping to create and shape the New York
disco / dance scene. Adams’ mid-70s writing and
productions created a soulful sound that contras-
ted with the later generic by-the-numbers main-
stream disco style that the American public came
to hate. Disco was breaking in 1975 and songs like
Sister Sledge’s
Circle Of Love
(written by Adams)
along with tracks like Pete Warner’s
I Just Want
To Spend My Life With You
had strong, dance-ori-
ented backbeats and production but with soulful
lyrics and backing harmonies. Adams also helped
create a New York sound that was influenced by,
but slightly different and less backbeat focused
than the Philadelphia sound.
Although an excellent mid-to-uptempo soul cut
with soulful lyrics and backing harmonies, Pete
Warner’s
I Just Want To Spend My Life With You
failed to get almost any radio play (an internet
search strangely reveals one chart in Arizona). The
cut was one of Adams’ only (his only?) produc-
tions for Polydor Records which might have exp-
lained the lack of promotion; he had more success
with other major labels such as Roulette, Atlantic,
Prelude, etc.
