Kimberley Briggs (June 21, 1937 – June 6, 2007) – What In This World's Happening To Love (1971)
This epic gospel-flavored socially conscious anthem was written by the singer/songwriter who also recorded as Kim Tolliver for her self-released debut LP.
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Kimberley Briggs was an unsung singer/songwriter who initially recorded as Kim Tolliver before marrying producer Freddy Briggs.
Born near Nashville, Tennessee but raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Kimberley Tolliver recorded and released her debut single in 1967. She wrote both sides, the heartfelt “In Return For Your Love” b/w the funky jam “Get A Little Soul.” It came out on Don Robey’s Houston-based Sure Shot Records, but was recorded in Nashville or Memphis.
She signed with Jack Taylor’s New York-based Rojac Records in 1968, and recorded several singles for his label. The first was a pair of gospel-flavored gems produced by Taylor, “Let Them Talk” b/w the stellar “I’ll Try To Do Better,” released in 1969.
“I’ll Try To Do Better” was soon re-issued by Rojac as an A-side, with the superb self-empowerment anthem “I Gotta Find A Way” (1969) on the flip, which Tolliver wrote.
One of her last singles on Rojac was co-produced by Taylor and Charles Whitworth, the stellar “Tuesday’s Child” (1969) b/w the soul/funk masterpiece “(Your Trying Too) Cop My Stuff,” which Tolliver co-wrote with her brother Robert Tolliver and the unknown songwriter J. Jones.
Around the beginning of the seventies, Tolliver married producer Freddy Briggs and began recording as Kimberley Briggs. In 1971, she and Freddy released a single on their own short-lived but well-named label Superheavy Records. She recorded “How Long (Can I Keep Hanging On) [Pts. 1 & 2]” under the name Big Ella, probably without realizing there was already a Memphis-based soul singer by that name.
Later that same year, the pair self-released her first full-length album Who's Kimberley? on KimBrig Records, produced by Freddy. It featured inspired covers of David Ruffin’s “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me),” the Boxtops’ biggest hit “The Letter” and “Leaving On A Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul & Mary (written by John Denver, who also did his own version). It was picked up for distribution by Fantasy Records, who re-issued it in 1972 under the new title Passing Clouds. But neither release charted.
Kimberley wrote all of the album’s original songs. Highlights included the upbeat infidelity tale “Give A Man An Inch (And He'll Take A Mile),” and the heartfelt closing cut “If I Could Work A Miracle.” Its masterpiece was the epic gospel-flavored socially conscious anthem “What In This World's Happening To Love.”
Rest in Peace, Kimberley Briggs.
Further info:
“Kim Tolliver,” Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven.
#soul #funk #KimTolliver #KimberleyBriggs