Eddie Watkins Jr & Legacy – Love Is Hard To Find / Did You Notice (My Love Grows) 45 (Soul Direction) 7″ Vinyl

Soul Direction presents the second instalment of unissued tracks from the writer and composer behind the music of 70s group Legacy. Legacy was formed around 1975 by Eddie Watkins Jr., who started the band.

At just 17 years old and still in high school, Eddie caught the attention of legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield during an Undisputed Truth band rehearsal. A few days later, he received a call from Motown to play on Norman Whitfield’s new Temptations album, Masterpiece. Brenda Evans was a member of the Motown group The Undisputed Truth. She sang on their first three albums: The Undisputed Truth, Face to Face with the Truth, and Law of the Land, all released between 1973 and 1973. She left The Undisputed Truth and later married Eddie Watkins Jr. Brenda joined her husband’s band Legacy from 1974 to 1975.

Under the guidance of Don Davis, Legacy recorded very few songs. The only two officially released were “I Must Confess” and “Believe in Yourself” on Tortoise International Records. The first set of unissued tracks released by Soul Direction—Boy, You’ve Been Acting Strange / Celebrate—were originally intended for Tortoise International Records. However, these two new tracks were meant for a planned new label that never materialized, and so they remained shelved until now.
These two tracks came from two master tapes, and after further conversations with Eddie, he shared: “The lead vocals on Love Is Hard to Find were Delbert Nelson (who also performed some backing vocals for The Funk Brothers) and me, Eddie Watkins Jr.” Eddie is also the lead vocalist on “Did You Notice” (I Used to Love You.) He added, “Unbelievable! That’s me at 19–20 years old. I recognize Quentin Dennard playing drums on one of the songs too.” “I was trying to copy Sly and the Family Stone by having different band members sing different parts,” he explained. “These were some of the first songs I ever wrote. Wow, I’m blown away. I’m speechless.” Eddie Watkins, who wrote all the songs, agreed to license the tracks to Soul Direction for a 7” vinyl release.

Today, Eddie remains an active member of his church, spreading his message and living life. Without his support, this release wouldn’t have been possible. – Soul Direction