Clifton Dyson (1949 – June 11, 2003) – Workin My Way To Something Better (1977)

This phenomenal jam was a single by Dyson's Faces, written and produced by the unsung singer/songwriter and self-released on his own label.

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Clifton Dyson was a soul and R&B singer/songwriter and the younger half-brother of singer Ronnie Dyson.

Born in Brooklyn, Dyson got his start singing gospel but embraced R&B during the late sixties. His older half-brother Ronnie Dyson was one of the original leads in the 1968 Broadway production of Hair, alongside Melba Moore and Diane Keaton. In 1971, right before he was about to go on tour opening for Richard Pryor, Clifton was busted in Virginia for cocaine sales and distribution, and served two years in prison.

When he got out, he formed the group Dyson’s Faces who released two albums in the mid-seventies. One of their singles was the phenomenal “Workin My Way To Something Better” (1977) which Dyson wrote and produced, b/w the beautiful, gospel-flavored slow jam “You And Me.” It was self-released on Dy-Rich Records, a short-lived label that Dyson owned along with saxophonist Ricco Richardson.

In 1981 Dyson put out his only solo album, Slow Your Body Down, which he co-wrote with Daniel Webster Clayton aka Hollywood Breeze and co-produced with Rodney Brown and Ronald Galloway. Its title track was a nearly 17-minute-long underground boogie funk classic.

The following year, Dyson and Clayton co-produced another stellar boogie funk jam, “You Can't Have Your Cake And Eat It Too” (1982) by Brenda Taylor. Dyson co-wrote it along with Richard Cobb and Sterling Sanford. Originally released on the D.C. label After Hour Records, it was picked up for distribution by West End.

Rest in Peace, Clifton Dyson.

Further info:

“Not So Mysterious Ways,” by Neil Drumming, Washington City Paper, February 12, 1999.

#soul #funk #disco #boogie #CliftonDyson