Leroy Hutson – Thank You / The Ghetto ’74 45 (Home Of The Good Groove) 7″ Vinyl

Third release in the “Hutson Sevens” series.

Many of you will know the story of LeRoy Hutson and Donny Hathaway being roommates at Howard University and together writing the legendary rare groove track “The Ghetto”.
In 1974, LeRoy Hutson used his artistic licence and adapted the track to feature on his album “The Man!” and subtly retitled the track “The Ghetto ’74”.
Home of The Good Groove Records are delighted to include this magnificent track on 7-inch vinyl for the very first time.

For the A-side on our third release we have chosen an outstanding track, which again is previously unreleased. Recorded at the Curtom studios in April 1977 “Thank You” is a fabulous “easy to the ear” piece of smooth soul music that has the classic Hutson groove. One for the soul music lovers, and a possible future sing along favourite to end a night of dancing.

Gareth Donovan has his say……………

Firstly, on a personal note, its been a real honour to be involved in this new label, and a big learning curve as to the intricacies of getting a record from ‘pot to plate’, to use a culinary expression.

When Rod Bartlett & I started eagerly digging into those unreleased Leroy Hutson ‘tapes’, it was testament to Leroy’s fine legacy that they should be packed with gems. Tracks to not only excite the dancefloor, but also for those folks who love his mellower side. The previous release featured one of those slower tunes, lifted from one of his original albums.

‘Thank You’ immediately stood out. Set at just above ballad tempo, this is vintage Leroy, right from the intro and as his voice & strings carry the track, through to the chorus. I’m sure this is one of those tunes which will will nag in your head, as it has mine. Just perfect. It was obvious to us here at HOTGG that this deserved its place, highlighted here on a 7″ single.

To compliment the mellower side, we then looked at his extensive back catalogue, to pluck a dancefloor favourite, something that also deserved a place on a 45. Tucked away on his 1974 album ‘The Man’, is his solo version of ‘The Ghetto ’74’. Almost criminally, this has ever been released on a 7″ single, and Rod & I decided it was high time this was rectified. A perfect tempo for today’s dancefloors, we are sure this will be a welcome addition to every soul collection, and your smaller DJ
boxes. – Gareth Donovan – Home of The Good Groove Records