Eugene Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) – Walk On My Side (1968)

The Chi-Lites lead singer and prolific songwriter wrote this phenomenal love song masterpiece for the great unsung Chicago singer Jackie Ross.

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The multi-talented singer/songwriter and producer Eugene Record was the lead singer and primary songwriter of the Chi-Lites. He also wrote many songs for other artists including Barbara Acklin, Betty Everett, Jackie Ross, the Dells, the Impressions, and Jackie Wilson.

Born and raised in Chicago, Eugene Booker Record’s grandfather inspired him to play guitar at a young age, and his oldest sister was a talented pianist. In high school he formed his first group with his friends Robert “Squirrel” Lester, Clarence Johnson, Burt Bowen, and Eddie Reed, called The Chanteurs. They released their first singles in 1959, which did not chart.

Bowen left the group, and Reed died in 1960. They were replaced by Marshall Thompson and Creadel “Red” Jones, who were both members of the Desideros. In 1964, they changed their name to the Hi-Lites and put out two singles on Daran Records. Johnson soon left the group, and they changed their name one more time to the Chi-Lites.

See our earlier posts on Marshall Thompson and talent scout/record label executive Otis Leavill (credited with discovering the group) for more on the Chi-Lites’ musical history.

Record became the group’s primary songwriter and lead singer. In 1967, he wrote their superb jam “Price of Love,” released on Dakar Records with “Baby It’s Time” on the flip, produced by Gerald Sims. The group was billed as Marshall & The Chi-Lites for a short time, including on this single.

In 1968, the Chi-Lites signed with Brunswick Records and began working directly with Chicago producer Carl Davis, the founder of Dakar who was also an executive at Brunswick. Davis and Record started writing and producing songs together, both for the Chi-Lites and other artists. Later that year they co-wrote the Chi-Lites’ upbeat “That's My Baby For You,” the B-side to “(Um, Um) My Baby Loves Me,” released on Revue and produced by Davis. They also co-wrote the beautiful jam “Give It Away” (1968) which was the group’s first charting single at #10 R&B and #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was used as the title track to their debut album, released in 1969.

Record and arranger Sonny Sanders co-wrote a song called “Am I The Same Girl?” for Barbara Acklin, produced by Davis. Recorded in 1968, Davis later re-cut the track, replacing Acklin’s vocals with a piano solo by Floyd Morris, and re-titling the instrumental as “Soulful Strut.” Credited to former Ramsey Lewis Trio members Eldee Young and Isaac Holt’s new group Young-Holt Unlimited and released that November, it was a huge hit for them, reaching #3 on both R&B charts and the Hot 100. Acklin’s original vocal version was released in February, 1969 and went to #33 R&B.

Also in 1968, Davis and Record co-wrote and Davis produced the lovely song “Mr. Sunshine (Where Is My Shadow)” for the unsung Chicago soul great Jackie Ross, best known for her #4 R&B hit “Selfish One” (1964). Its B-side “Walk On My Side” was written solely by Record and produced by Davis. A phenomenal invitation to love, it had memorable lyrics, passionate backing vocals, a funky bass line, powerful strings and horns, plus a legendary lead vocal performance by Ross, and should have been the single’s A-side. It was covered later that year by Vivian Reed, but Ross’ original was a song for the ages.

The group’s third album was its breakthrough, the socially conscious (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People. Produced and largely written by Record, it was released in July, 1971. He wrote its powerful title track which went to #4 R&B, and the LP peaked at #3 on the R&B charts.

Other highlights included the plea for racial unity “We Are Neighbors,” co-written by Record and drummer/songwriter Quinton Joseph, and the anthem for a better world “Love Uprising,” written solely by Record.

For their fifth album A Letter To Myself, released in March, 1973 and produced by Record, he and Quinton Joseph co-wrote the stellar message song “We Need Order.” Issued as the LP’s lead single, it hit #13 R&B and #61 on the Hot 100.

After eight albums on Brunswick, the company ran into financial trouble in the mid-seventies, and the Chi-Lites signed with Mercury. Record left the group to go solo and released three albums on Warner Bros. before rejoining the Chi-Lites in 1980. For his first solo LP, The Eugene Record (1977), he wrote every song but one, including superb jams like “Danger! Love Under Pressure” and “Overdose Of Joy.”

Record died in Chicago following a long battle with cancer, gone too soon at age 64. In 2015, his son Brian published a lengthy biography of his father.

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the great Eugene Record.

Further info:

“Eugene Record, 64, Singer and Writer for Chi-Lites, Dies,” obituary, The New York Times, July 23, 2005.

My Father In Lites: Grammy award winning songwriter, Eugene Record, biography by Brian Anthony Record Sr., 2015.

“Soul singer Jackie Ross is so much more than a one-hit wonder,” by Steve Krakow, Chicago Reader, May 20, 2021.

#soul #funk #Chicago #ChiLites #EugeneRecord