Arnold Blair – Trying To Get Next To You / Finally Made It Home 45 (Home Of The Good Groove) 7″ Vinyl

Arnold Blair holds one of soul music’s bittersweet stories.

It is very likely that every rare groove fan knows the name Arnold Blair, a man whose brief discography resonates with the finest crate diggers. Long before he stepped up to the microphone, Blair was somewhat a background contributor to the sound of Chicago soul.

Back in the day, Arnold Blair was acquainted with LeRoy Hutson, together with many others at Howard University. As time moved on and Curtom records developed, Arnold Blair followed those acquaintances from Howard to Chicago, and often helped out with organising studio requirements, including the set-up of sessions and generally looking after the performers. Yet, Blair wasn’t just a facilitator; It is fair to say that he was a “student of the groove”, surrounding by such talent, and himself a keen vocalist, waiting for an opportunity.

Blair eventually stepped a little forward from the shadows and joined some session recordings as a backing vocalist. The day finally came in 1975 when Hutson agreed to bring Arnold Blair in to the recording studio and perform as a vocalist on four tracks. The only tracks ever recorded by Arnold Blair as a solo vocal performer.

Eventually Blair walked away from the studio grind, trading the glow of the music world for a quiet, successful career in Texas real estate. Sadly, in 1996, Blair’s life was tragically cut short, the victim of a heinous, violent crime. Though his life ended so lamentably, we remain grateful that the music is here to stay.

Arnold Blair’s seminal Chicago soul track, first surfaced in November 1975 via Leroy Hutson’s boutique label, Gemigo Records. The song—a collaborative writing effort between Blair and Hutson, who also handled production and arrangement—perfectly bridges the gap between early-70s orchestral soul and the polished, mid-tempo “modern soul” that would later take the soul scene by storm.

Despite failing to make a commercial impact in America upon release, the record eventually transformed into a highly coveted holy grail for UK DJs, rare groove collectors, and soul fans globally.

On the flip, a track Recorded in 1975 during the exact same studio sessions as his legendary rare groove gem, Arnold Blair’s “Finally Made It Home” stands as one of the most astonishing unearthed treasures in Chicago soul history. Orchestrated and masterminded by Hutson for his Triumph Records production company, the track sat unreleased in the vaults for over forty years. When Russell Paine’s archival label Super Disco Edits officially pressed it to a 7″ vinyl single in October 2016, it instantly captured the hearts of soul purists.

These two masterpieces are finally sharing the same piece of wax on a brand-new 7-inch single. – Home Of The Good Groove Records