New Birth (also known as The New Birth) is an American funk and R&B group. … Read Full Bio ↴New Birth (also known as The New Birth) is an American funk and R&B group. It was originally conceived in Detroit, Michigan by former Motown songwriter/producer, Vernon Bullock and co-founded in Louisville, Kentucky by him with former singer and Motown songwriter/producer Harvey Fuqua and musicians, Tony Churchill, James Baker, Robin Russell, Austin Lander, Robert "Lurch" Jackson, Leroy Taylor, Charlie Hearndon, Bruce Marshall and Nathaniel "Nebs" Neblett.
The history of the group starts with the instrumental outfit, The Nite-Liters which had originally been formed in 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, and featured, in its heydey, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. (Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of Earth, Wind & Fire) and Jerry Bell. Under this name the group had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper. In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company, and Harvey Fuqua and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young and an individual known as "Slim," and a female vocal group, known as Mint Julip, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters and additional vocalist, Alan Frye and called the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Perry Como's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan called Love, Peace & Happiness which featured former Marvelettes singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye. In 1972, the reorganized group (as a seventeen-piece ensemble) hit the R&B top ten with their cover of Bobby Womack and The Valentinos' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success. By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the sole female member. Due to a brief dispute with their management company, their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go" featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes member Susaye Greene as lead vocalist.
In 1974, the group issued their hit album, It's Been a Long Time, which spawned the hits including the title track and their cover of the psychedelic single "Wildflower", which became a top ten hit in the UK singles chart. After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah.
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler classic, "Dream Merchant". After the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers split from the group following in-fighting and growing tensions in the group.
The group returned in 1979 James Baker, Tony Chruchill and Austin Lander introduce Jerry Bell as their new lead vocalist with Platinum City and in 1982 with the I'm Back album. Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne in L.T.D.. Jerry Bell left the group in 1981 to become the lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band.
The Wilsons toured with a new ensemble as New Birth in 1994, and released a few albums under the new name in the decade since. Drummer Robin Russell released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004 and Jerry Bell re-recored there hit "It"s Been Such A Long Time" 2010 for Lotus Records/ Bunglo/ Universal Records Music Group.
Since the group's initial split, their songs have been covered from the likes of Jamie Foxx, who sampled their cover of "Wildflower" for his 2005 hit, "Unpredictable". R&B group Something for the People sampled their "It's Been a Long Time" for their 1996 hit, "My Love is the Shhh". Rap artist Lil' Wayne sampled "You Don't Have to Be Alone" from their self-titled album in his song "La La" and Jerry Bell "It"s Been Such A Long Time 2010.
Singer Gary Young died in 2018.
Discography
As The Nite-Liters
* Nite-Liters (RCA Records, 1970)
* Morning, Noon & the Nite-Liters (RCA, 1971) US #167, US Black Albums #31
* Instrumental Directions (RCA, 1972) US #198, US Black Albums #41
* Different Strokes (RCA, 1972)
* A-Nal-Y-Sis (RCA, 1973) US Black Albums #34
Love, Peace & Happiness-
* Love Is Stronger (RCA, 1971)
* Here 'Tis (RCA, 1972)
As New Birth
* The New Birth (RCA, 1971)
* Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing (RCA, 1971) US #189, US Black Albums #50
* Comin' Together (RCA, 1972) US Black Albums #40
* Birth Day (RCA, 1973) US #31, US Black Albums #1
* It's Been a Long Time (RCA, 1974) US #50, US Black Albums #7
* Comin' From All Ends (RCA, 1974) US #56, US Black Albums #20
* Blind Baby (Buddah Records, 1975) US #57, US Black Albums #17
* Love Potion (Warner Bros. Records, 1976) US #168, US Black Albums #22
* Behold the Mighty Army (Warner Bros. Records, 1977) US #164, US Black Albums #28
* Disco (RCA, 1977)
* Reincarnation (RCA, 1977)
* Platinum City (Capitol Records, 1979)
* I'm Back (1982)
* God's Children (PNEC Records, 1998)
* I Am Blessed (Trio Records, 2004)
* Lifetime (Orpheus Records, 2005)
[edit] Singles
Year Title Chart Positions
U.S. Pop Singles U.S. Black Singles
1971 "It's Impossible" 52 12
"K-Jee" 39 17
1972 "(We've Got to) Pull Together" - 27
"Afro-Strut" 49 24
"I Don't Want to Do Wrong" - 41
1973 "I Can Understand It" 35 4
"Until It's Time for You to Go" 97 21
1974 "I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal, Part I" 88 46
"It's Been a Long Time" 66 9
"Wildflower" 45 17
1975 "Comin' From All Ends" - 76
"Dream Merchant" 36 1
"Grandaddy (Part I)" 95 28
1976 "The Long and Winding Road"
The history of the group starts with the instrumental outfit, The Nite-Liters which had originally been formed in 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky by Tony Churchill and Harvey Fuqua, and featured, in its heydey, besides Churchill on tenor sax and vibes, Charlie Hearndon on guitar, James Baker on keyboards, Robin Russell on drums, Robert "Lurch" Jackson on trumpet, Austin Lander on baritone sax, Leroy Taylor on bass, and, later, Carl McDaniel on guitar. (Earlier members included Johnny Graham, later of Earth, Wind & Fire) and Jerry Bell. Under this name the group had a few hits before the formation of New Birth proper. In 1969, Vernon Bullock had thought of creating an ensemble of groups for a touring company, and Harvey Fuqua and Tony Churchill soon took an interest. After discovering a male vocal group, The Now Sound, which featured Bobby Downs, Ron Coleman, Gary Young and an individual known as "Slim," and a female vocal group, known as Mint Julip, which featured Londee Loren, Tanita Gaines, Janice Carter and Pam Swent, they brought them together with The Nite-Liters and additional vocalist, Alan Frye and called the newly formed ensemble New Birth. The band came together in 1970 with their self-titled debut on RCA. Their second album, Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing, yielded a minor hit with their cover of Perry Como's "It's Impossible", in 1971.
Later that year, Bullock discovered a group from Detroit, Michigan called Love, Peace & Happiness which featured former Marvelettes singer Ann Bogan and brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson. Finding that they had the spark that was missing from the New Birth ensemble, he paired them with the Nite-Liters and original members of New Birth, Londee Loren, Bobby Downs and Alan Frye. In 1972, the reorganized group (as a seventeen-piece ensemble) hit the R&B top ten with their cover of Bobby Womack and The Valentinos' "I Can Understand It", which paved the way for the band's future success. By the time the song hit the stores, however, Ann left to devote time to her family, leaving Londee Loren as the sole female member. Due to a brief dispute with their management company, their next hit, "Until It's Time for You to Go" featured, instead of the group members, future Supremes member Susaye Greene as lead vocalist.
In 1974, the group issued their hit album, It's Been a Long Time, which spawned the hits including the title track and their cover of the psychedelic single "Wildflower", which became a top ten hit in the UK singles chart. After the release of their sixth RCA album, Comin' From All Ends, the group split from RCA, Fuqua and their management company and signed with Buddah.
New Birth's Buddah debut, Blind Baby, featured the group's only number-one R&B single, a cover of the Jerry Butler classic, "Dream Merchant". After the release of the 1977 album, Behold The Mighty Army, the Wilson brothers split from the group following in-fighting and growing tensions in the group.
The group returned in 1979 James Baker, Tony Chruchill and Austin Lander introduce Jerry Bell as their new lead vocalist with Platinum City and in 1982 with the I'm Back album. Leslie Wilson had left the group to replace Jeffrey Osborne in L.T.D.. Jerry Bell left the group in 1981 to become the lead vocalist for Motown's Dazz Band.
The Wilsons toured with a new ensemble as New Birth in 1994, and released a few albums under the new name in the decade since. Drummer Robin Russell released a solo CD entitled Drum Beats in 2004 and Jerry Bell re-recored there hit "It"s Been Such A Long Time" 2010 for Lotus Records/ Bunglo/ Universal Records Music Group.
Since the group's initial split, their songs have been covered from the likes of Jamie Foxx, who sampled their cover of "Wildflower" for his 2005 hit, "Unpredictable". R&B group Something for the People sampled their "It's Been a Long Time" for their 1996 hit, "My Love is the Shhh". Rap artist Lil' Wayne sampled "You Don't Have to Be Alone" from their self-titled album in his song "La La" and Jerry Bell "It"s Been Such A Long Time 2010.
Singer Gary Young died in 2018.
Discography
As The Nite-Liters
* Nite-Liters (RCA Records, 1970)
* Morning, Noon & the Nite-Liters (RCA, 1971) US #167, US Black Albums #31
* Instrumental Directions (RCA, 1972) US #198, US Black Albums #41
* Different Strokes (RCA, 1972)
* A-Nal-Y-Sis (RCA, 1973) US Black Albums #34
Love, Peace & Happiness-
* Love Is Stronger (RCA, 1971)
* Here 'Tis (RCA, 1972)
As New Birth
* The New Birth (RCA, 1971)
* Ain't No Big Thing, But It's Growing (RCA, 1971) US #189, US Black Albums #50
* Comin' Together (RCA, 1972) US Black Albums #40
* Birth Day (RCA, 1973) US #31, US Black Albums #1
* It's Been a Long Time (RCA, 1974) US #50, US Black Albums #7
* Comin' From All Ends (RCA, 1974) US #56, US Black Albums #20
* Blind Baby (Buddah Records, 1975) US #57, US Black Albums #17
* Love Potion (Warner Bros. Records, 1976) US #168, US Black Albums #22
* Behold the Mighty Army (Warner Bros. Records, 1977) US #164, US Black Albums #28
* Disco (RCA, 1977)
* Reincarnation (RCA, 1977)
* Platinum City (Capitol Records, 1979)
* I'm Back (1982)
* God's Children (PNEC Records, 1998)
* I Am Blessed (Trio Records, 2004)
* Lifetime (Orpheus Records, 2005)
[edit] Singles
Year Title Chart Positions
U.S. Pop Singles U.S. Black Singles
1971 "It's Impossible" 52 12
"K-Jee" 39 17
1972 "(We've Got to) Pull Together" - 27
"Afro-Strut" 49 24
"I Don't Want to Do Wrong" - 41
1973 "I Can Understand It" 35 4
"Until It's Time for You to Go" 97 21
1974 "I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal, Part I" 88 46
"It's Been a Long Time" 66 9
"Wildflower" 45 17
1975 "Comin' From All Ends" - 76
"Dream Merchant" 36 1
"Grandaddy (Part I)" 95 28
1976 "The Long and Winding Road"
You Are What I'm All About
The New Birth Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by The New Birth:
been such a long time Been such a long time, since I saw you Tell me,…
Come On And Dream Some Paradise Come on and dream some paradise Dream, dream, dream some pa…
Do It Again In this old Back alley here with you It looks to me Like…
Don't Get It Twisted 'Cause I got a little money, can't see it for The…
Dream Merchant Hey, hey, Mr. Dream Merchant Everything depends on you, who…
Got To Get A Knutt (New Birth) Do do do Do do do dooooooooo Let me hear …
Honey Bee Oh, honeybee Don′t you sting me Sting me Sting me Don't fly …
I Can Understand It I know everybody realizes that a man works Better when he…
I Remember Well I've got dreams, dreams to remember I've got dreams, dreams …
I've Got Dreams To Remember I've got dreams, dreams to remember I've got dreams, dreams …
It's Been A Long Time Been such a long time, since I saw you Tell me,…
It's Been A Long Time Been such a long time, since I saw you Tell me,…
It's Impossible Impossible, ooh impossible It's impossible, tell the sun to…
Itas Been A Long Time Been such a long time, since I saw you Tell me,…
Never Can Say Goodbye I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now Never…
Pains Of Love (Pa-a-a-ain) the pains of love (Out) is out to get you,…
The Long and Winding Road The long and winding road That leads to your door Will nev…
Theme From "Buck and the Preacher" Ooh hoo hoooo (ow ow ow hey) Oooooooh ooh oooh Oooooooh o…
Until It's Time For You To Go Honey? Honey? Yeah? It's time. I know. But it's been so n…
Wild Flower She faced the hardest times you can imagine And many times…
Wildflower She's faced the hardest times you could imagine And many tim…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Albinator2
i think that’s cause to have a lil fun
get super fucked up and get kicked out of gristedes
run into the street and get struck by a mercedes
end up eating through a feeding tube
that’s a life hack
in a full body cast
so i don’t have to write back
to any email ever
it’s pretty clever
facing my goals head on
just feels better!
Jimmm Grimmm
Robin Russell on drums....One of the best and most creative drummers in the world..... No spaces, no gaps, every available space is covered by his exceptional freestyle drumming.... Robin Russell, we salute you Sir...
lowlowseesee
this is one reason why i read comments. you helped make it like I had the record in my hand. thank you
naturalE me
Thank you! I was just looking for that information!!! BadASS on those drums!!!!
Rafael Daniel
Simplicity and Elegance. Gets right to point. And, it STILL sounds as good as it did in the '70s
TheRetroWoman80
Inexplicable greatness all over every part of this song!!
azz05
TIMELESS, FLAWLESS, QUALITY PLATINUM MUSIC. TODAY'S MUSIC ARTIST COULD NEVER REACH THIS CALIBER OF GREATNESS..
lowlowseesee
@beckcity16 facts!!!! no century is without some bad ass musicians
beckcity16
azz05 I wanna agree but I can't. There're musicians out there that are as good and even better, we just don't get to hear them..I feel you though!!
Diatonic5th
The drumming on this is amazing.
MacTownAmbassador
Biggie and Junior Mafia sampled this song for "Player's Anthem". It was a classic song like this.