Arthur Prysock (January 1, 1924 – June 14, 1997) - You Can Do It (1977)
One of Prysock's funkiest moments, this overlooked disco jam was co-written by Evie Sands and produced by John Davis & The Monster Orchestra.
The late great R&B pioneer Arthur Prysock was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Prysock was raised in North Carolina and moved to Hartford, CT for a job in the aircraft industry during World War II. He began singing at nightclubs, and in 1944 was hired as a vocalist by bandleader Buddy Johnson. Prysock was featured on many of Johnson’s hit records until going solo in 1952.
He enjoyed a successful career singing emotion-filled ballads in his deep baritone voice and was one of the most popular acts on the Chitlin’ Circuit during the segregation era. In the 1960s he had his own short-lived TV show.
During the early 1970s, Prysock spent four years between record labels. Then the emerging disco movement and chart success of solo male vocalists like Lou Rawls and Barry White revived interest in his singing style. In 1974 he returned to Old Town Records, his label from 1960-65 where he had previously recorded some of his biggest records. Paired with producer John “Monster” Davis and a supporting cast of Philly soul veterans, Prysock recorded his All My Life LP (1976). It yielded the #10 R&B / #11 Disco hit “When Love Is New,” penned by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
The following year, Davis produced, arranged and conducted the album Arthur Prysock Does It Again! (1977), which opened with the disco gem “You Can Do It.”
It was released as a single, but only made it to #33 R&B.
Davis played keyboards and sax. Larry Washington was on congas, assisting a rhythm section made up of Vince Fay on bass, Craig Snyder on guitar and Jimmy Young playing drums. Strings and horns came courtesy of Don Renaldo and The Guys. Joining Davis as backing vocalists were Carolyn Mitchell and Vaneese Thomas, daughter of Stax legend Rufus Thomas.
The song was co-written by singer/songwriter Evie Sands, whose own career as a blue-eyed soul singer ran into bad luck from the very beginning. A test pressing of her debut single “Take Me for a Little While” (1965) was given to Chess Records executives, who immediately had Jackie Ross record her own version. It eclipsed Evie Sands’ original in airplay and sales and led to lawsuits and confusion.
#soul #disco #ArthurPrysock
Very informative. 🎼