Keith Barrow (September 27, 1954 – October 22, 1983) – Turn Me Up (1978)
This dancefloor masterpiece by the talented gospel disco star was co-written by producer Michael Stokes and became a Larry Levan fave at the Paradise Garage.
View most updated version of this post on Substack.
On October 22, 1983, forty years ago today, the talented singer/songwriter Keith Barrow died of AIDS-related complications in Chicago.
Born and raised on the city’s South Side, his mother was civil rights activist Reverend Willie Taplin Barrow, who was Barack Obama’s godmother and along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson co-founded the Chicago chapter of Operation Breadbasket, which later became Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity).
Barrow got his start singing gospel, began writing music when he was eight years old, and headed a group called the Soul Shakers in high school. In 1973, at age 19, he released a self-titled gospel album on Jewel Records, the Louisiana-based gospel label and sister imprint of Paula Records. The Rev. Jackson wrote its liner notes. His talent was obvious on tracks like the upbeat jam “Everything is Gonna Be Alright,” “Brighter Days,” and the powerful opening cut “Oh! Freedom.”
He moved to New York City, and then Los Angeles, where he signed with Columbia/CBS Records and released his secular debut solo album in the summer of 1977. It was produced by original core MFSB member Bobby Eli (who sadly left us this past August at age 77) and was also self-titled.
Eli and songwriter Len Barry co-wrote the album’s stellar closing cut “We've Got a Right to Be Wrong.” Wilmington, Delaware native Phil Hurtt (who co-wrote the Spinners’ first #1 hit “I’ll Be Around” with Thom Bell) wrote its masterpiece, the epic message song “A World Of Lonely People.”
Eli brought several fellow former MFSB members along for the ride on this album, including Michael “Sugar Bear” Foreman on bass, T. J. Tindall on guitar, Larry Washington on congas and percussion, Charles Collins on drums, and the great Ron “Have Mercy” Kersey on keyboards. The Sweethearts of Sigma (Evette Benton, Barbara Ingram, and Carla Benson) were featured on backing vocals.
Barrow’s second album was released the following year in 1978. Physical Attraction was helmed by Detroit producer Michael Stokes, who co-wrote all but one of its eight tracks.
Among its numerous highlights were the funky title track, the upbeat cut “Joyful Music,” the quiet storm jam “You Know You Want To Be Loved” (which went to #26 R&B), the beautiful liberation anthem “Free To Be Me,” and the stellar dancefloor jam “Turn Me Up,” which became a favorite of Larry Levan at the newly opened Paradise Garage.
Like most of the rest of the LP, “Turn Me Up” was co-written by Stokes and Ronald Matlock, with a nearly twelve-minute extended remix by Rafael Charres.
Barrow first fell ill while performing in Paris during the summer of 1979 and was taken to a local hospital. As his mother told the Windy City Times in 2004:
“One night, in 1979, he called me from Paris and said ‘Momma, I don’t think I’ll be able to go on stage tonight. I really feel sick.’ I said, ‘Oh, you’ll be alright.’ I prayed for him and then he called again a couple of hours later and he said: ‘Momma, I can’t perform. I have to go; they have to take me to the hospital.’ That’s when he found out that he had [what was later revealed to be] HIV.”
He recorded his final album Just As I Am for Capitol Records the following year in 1980 before his condition began to worsen. In June, 1983 he returned home to Chicago where he was finally diagnosed with AIDS. He was dead within four months at age 29. Over 1,000 mourners attended his memorial service, which was held at Operation PUSH’s auditorium in Chicago. The Rev. Jackson delivered his eulogy, and Roberta Flack performed “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”
Further info:
“Willie Barrow: 8 Decades of Activism, a son lost to AIDS,” by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times, December 29, 2004.
“Keith Barrow’s life a beautiful song unsung,” by S.E. Flemming Jr., Aural Examination, May 15, 2008.
“Keith Barrow,” National Black Justice Coalition, September 27, 2017.
#soul #funk #disco #KeithBarrow