James "D-Train" Williams (born January 21, 1962) – Keep On (1982)

This club anthem hit #2 on dance charts, co-written by Williams and produced by keyboardist Hubert Eaves III who co-mixed it with François Kevorkian.

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James “D-Train” Williams is a singer/songwriter and producer, and one half of the duo D Train who had several huge club hits in the early 1980s.

Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, James Nelson Williams started singing in a church choir when he was six years old. He was a defensive tackle on the football team at Erasmus Hall High School, and was given his nickname “D-Train” by the team’s captain who said, “When he hits you, it’s like being hit by a train.” The nickname refers to the New York City subway line that stretches from the Bronx to Coney Island in Brooklyn.

In the late seventies, Williams was making music with his high school classmate, the singer/songwriter Will Downing, when he was introduced to keyboardist and producer Hubert Eaves III. Eaves was a member of James Mtume’s soul/funk group Mtume at the time, but after Eaves left Mtume in 1980, Williams and Eaves began recording together as a duo and dubbed themselves D Train.

Their first single “You’re The One For Me” was released on Prelude Records in late 1981, co-written by Williams and Eaves. It was produced and arranged by Eaves, who co-mixed it with disco DJ François Kevorkian at Sigma Sound NYC. The track was a huge club hit, going all the way to #1 on the dance charts and also reaching #13 R&B. In the UK it peaked at #30 on the singles charts.

In April, 1982, Prelude released D Train’s self-titled debut LP, aka You’re The One For Me, since the name of their hit song appeared at the top of the album cover. It was produced by Eaves with most of its songs co-written by Williams and Eaves, and co-mixed by Eaves and Kevorkian.

The LP’s first single dropped a month after the album hit stores. “Keep On” was an inspirational anthem that preached “Keep on steppin’ ‘til you reach higher ground,” and was another huge club record at #2 on the dance charts and #15 R&B. The extended 12” version became a particular favorite of David Mancuso at his influential Loft parties, and was included on the compilation David Mancuso presents The Loft - Volume Two, released in 2000.

Two more singles from the album followed, a cover of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David classic “Walk On By” (originally written for Dionne Warwick in 1963 and covered by Isaac Hayes in 1969) and “‘D’ Train Theme,” which featuring Williams rapping in an ill-advised move. Both stalled out at #45 on dance charts, even though later copies of the latter single switched out the vocal version for a superb dub version that was remixed solely by Kevorkian.

The B-side to “‘D’ Train Theme” was the stellar anthem “Tryin' to Get Over,” which was remixed by Eaves and producer Ben Wisch. If the sides had been flipped, it probably would have been another big hit for them.

Happy Birthday, James “D-Train” Williams.

Further info:

“All Aboard The D-Train! James 'D-Train' Williams talks to SJF about his latest musical enterprise with producer Lenny Fontana,” interview, Soul and Jazz and Funk, April 26, 2016.

“TIR 233: James “D-Train” Williams Shares How He Has Kept Keeping On,” Funknstuff.net, August 7, 2023.

#soul #funk #disco #DTrain #HubertEavesIII #JamesDTrainWilliams