Keni Burke (born September 28, 1953) – Salaam (1976)
The former Five Stairsteps member wrote this laid back funk jam for their 2nd Resurrection LP, co-produced by Billy Preston who also played synthesizer on it.
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Keni Burke is a multi-talented singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He played guitar and bass and sang with his family’s soul group the Five Stairsteps before launching his own solo career in the late seventies.
Keni is the second-youngest of six children born to Betty and Clarence Burke Sr., all of whom eventually became members of the Five Stairsteps. See our earlier post on Keni’s brother Clarence Burke Jr. and Micro-Chop’s highly informative post on Keni’s biggest solo hit “Risin’ To The Top” for more on the group's history.
After Keni’s sister Alohe Jean left the group in 1972 to embark on a spiritual journey, they spent several years between albums before signing to George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records in the mid-seventies. Remaining members Clarence Jr., Dennis, James, and Keni co-produced their 1976 comeback LP 2nd Resurrection with Billy Preston, who also played TONTO (“The Original New Timbral Orchestra”) synthesizer on the album. The world’s first and largest multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer, TONTO was programmed for 2nd Resurrection by its inventor Malcolm Cecil and his collaborator Robert Margouleff.
Along with his brother Clarence Jr., Keni co-wrote its superb, funky opening cut “From Us To You,” which was released as the LP’s lead single and took them back to the R&B top-ten when it peaked at #10, although the album did not chart. Keni played bass, lead guitar, and sang lead vocals on the track. He also wrote and played bass on the album’s closing cut, the mind-expanding instrumental funk jam “Salaam” (1976).
The Stairsteps disbanded after the release of 2nd Resurrection. Keni began working as a session musician for Dark Horse Records, and released his self-titled debut solo LP on the label in 1977.
It included funky cuts like “Tell Me That You Love Me,” and its superb closing cut “From Me To You,” an instrumental version of 2nd Resurrection’s hit “From Us To You.” Another of its highlights was the inspirational jam “Give All You Can Give,” which Burke co-wrote with rhythm guitarist Ronnie Vann.
Happy 70th Birthday to the great Keni Burke.
Further info:
“The Origins of Keni Burke's "Risin' To The Top",” by
, Micro-Chop, January 26, 2020.“Five Stairsteps patriarch Clarence Burke Sr. dead,” obituary, Chicago Sun-Times, August 28, 2020.
“Keni Burke - A Profile,” SoulStrutter, September 28, 2022.
#soul #funk #FiveStairsteps #KeniBurke