Charles Drain (May 31, 1939 – March 18, 1995) – Don't Change Me (1976)

The stellar funky opening cut to the unsung singer's only LP was written by Michael Lovesmith, featuring bassist Paul Jackson of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters.

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Charles Drain was the lead singer of the Tabs in the early 1960s before going solo with the help of his brother William’s songwriting and production talents. His only album was released on RCA Records in 1975.

Born in Mississippi, he started singing when he was eight years old. His family moved to St. Louis, where he first found professional work as a backing vocalist before joining local R&B vocal group The Tabs as their lead singer. Vee Jay Records gave them a contract in the early sixties, and their first single “Dance All By Myself” b/w "Dance Party” was released in December, 1961. Drain wrote its fun, funky B-side.

In 1964 he released his first solo record, “So Glad'” b/w the doo-wop flavored “Stop And Think About It Baby,” both tracks written and produced by his brother William Drain. The single came out on the short-lived Top Track Records label, the only record they ever released.

Three years later, he recorded tracks for another single, this time co-produced by William and the great St. Louis songwriter/producer Oliver Sain. The haunting heartbreak tale “She’s Gone” was issued by Checker in 1967, b/w the upbeat jam “Here I Am.” Charles wrote both sides, but the single did not chart.

Drain spent the next several years living in Chicago, again working as a backing vocalist. By the mid-seventies he had returned to St. Louis, and was signed by producer Kent Washburn, who had just been hired to run CMC, the city’s newest recording studio. Together with local songwriter/producer Michael L. Smith aka Lovesmith, Washburn began recording tracks for Drain’s debut album on RCA Records. But before it was finished, CMC abruptly closed. Washburn took a job with Motown and moved to Los Angeles after completing Drain’s LP at other studios in L.A. and St. Louis.

The first song RCA released in January, 1975 was the heartfelt disco-soul jam “Is This Really Love,” which was unfortunately edited down from its dancefloor-friendly five-minute length for the single. The label failed to promote it, and it did not chart.

Exactly one year later in early 1976, another single was released, “Lifetime Guarantee of Love” b/w “Just As Long.” Soon afterwards, Drain’s full album hit stores, titled Dependable.

Its opening cut “Don't Change Me” was a superb individuality anthem, and should have been released as a single. Like the rest of the album, it featured Phil Westmoreland aka West on guitar, Victor Reef on trombone, Ernie Fields, Jr. on sax, Ray Kennedy on keyboards, and bassist Paul Jackson of Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters.

Other highlights were the upbeat jam “What You Don’t Know,'“ co-written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, another missed opportunity for what would have been a slamming single, and its very funky closing cut “I’ve Been Workin’.”

Another single was released from the LP in March, 1976, “I'm Gonna Stay” b/w the emotional slow jam “What Good Is A Love Song.” But neither the album nor its singles charted, and Drain’s major label career was over.

In the late seventies, Washburn and Smith produced one more record for Drain, released on their EmKay Records label, the upbeat disco-funk jam “I Could Stay All Nite” which was written by Smith.

Rest in Power, Charles Drain.

Further info:

“Charles Drain: Two Stupid Feet / The Charles Drain Story,” Soul-Source.co.uk, January 2, 2017.

#soul #funk #OliverSain #CharlesDrain