Eugene Record RIP

EUGENE RECORD 1940 - 2005
Songwriter, soulful voice of Chi-Lites

By Greg Kot
Tribune music critic
Published July 23, 2005, 6:55 AM CDT

Most of the great soul singers begged, pleaded and screamed. But the Chi-Lites' Eugene Record made a career out of sounding like the saddest man on earth.

Record, 64, who died in Chicago on Friday after a long battle with cancer, was the creative engine behind one of the most successful vocal groups ever assembled. During the second half of Chicago's golden soul era in the '60s and '70s, the Chi-Lites scored 11 top 20 R&B hits, including the signature singles "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl."

Most of those songs were written and produced by Record, who ranks with Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, Tyrone Davis and a handful of other greats in establishing Chicago as an international home for soul music.

Record's forlorn tenor vocals gave the quintet a sound unlike any other group's, a sound reinforced by the sophistication of his songwriting and arranging.

"So I try to be hip and think like the crowd/But even the crowd can't help me now," Record sang in the group's sole No. 1 pop hit, "Oh Girl." He was a man adrift, faced with issues rarely confronted in pop songs. His relationship was falling apart not because his girl was running around on him, but because he couldn't bear the thought that she was out-earning him. He's ashamed and wants to run away, even as his friends counsel him to take advantage of the situation. It was a nuanced perspective that lent credibility by Record's delicate voice, particularly when it soared to falsetto heights.

The Chi-Lites were a throwback to the doo-wop era of the '50s, when Record and fellow group members Marshall Thompson, Robert Lester, Clarence Johnson and Creadel Jones honed their vocal chops on streetcorners. They were forged in the musical crucible of the South Side, which was teeming with vocal groups competing with one another. Record's group the Chaunteurs included Lester and Johnson, and was formed while Record was still attending Englewood High School. The Chaunteurs would often take on the Desideros, led by Thompson and Jones. The rival groups later joined forces, first as the Hi-Lites, and scored some modest local hits.

But it wasn't until producer Carl Davis entered the picture that the group enjoyed wider success. Opening offices at 1449 S. Michigan Ave., he signed the Chi-Lites to the Brunswick label in 1968, released their first national chart hit, "Give It Away" (co-written by Davis and Record), and hired Record to write songs for his publishing firm. Record went on to write songs for Jackie Wilson and other Brunswick artists.

The Chi-Lites debut album, "Give It Away," was released in 1969, and the group's finely honed harmonies rapidly evolved. The quintet struck a more militant stance on its 1971 album, "Give More Power to the People," their first million-seller. But it was the destitute "Have You Seen Her" that imprinted the group, and Record's ineffable voice, on the public consciousness.

"I had the song for at least two or three years," Record told author Robert Pruter. "But it was so long; five minutes long!"

Record said he included it on the album only because Isaac Hayes had just put out "Hot Buttered Soul," which included only four extended tracks. The risk paid off. Nothing on the radio sounded remotely like "Have You Seen Her," and deejays embraced the song. The lyric, cowritten by Record and Brunswick artist Barbara Acklin, is drenched in regret; the singer took his lover for granted, and now he's paying the price. He searches the streets in vain. Mr. Record's performance is a tour de force of longing, as a conversational introduction rises to a shattering, falsetto plea of "Why, oh, why, did she have to leave and go away?"

"Oh Girl" followed in 1972, punctuated by the campfire harmonica of Cy Touff—another signature touch that distinguished Record and the Chi-Lites from just about every other soul act.

In 1976, the Chi-Lites were beset by legal problems that affected the entire record label. They pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges and were ordered to pay fines. Record began a solo career, scoring a handful of minor hits. He continued to write and produce for other artists, and he occasionally joined the Chi-Lites on stage and on record.

He became a born-again Christian in the '80s, and later released a gospel album. Meanwhile his songs endured. "Have You Seen Her" was refashioned by the rapper M.C. Hammer, "Oh Girl" was recorded by British soul singer Paul Young and reggae group UB40 recorded "Homely Girl." In 2003, the horns from the Chi-Lites' "Are You My Woman?" were the basis for Beyonce's hit "Crazy in Love," which gave Record a chart span of No. 1 hits stretching more than 31 years, the sixth-longest among songwriters in the modern era, according to Billboard.

"He was very excited about the young talents recording all our music, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Fantasia (Barrino), the American Idol," said Chi-Lites founder Marshall Thompson on Friday. "Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" really rejuvenated us," Thompson said.

Record is survived by his wife, Jackie.