Grayson Hugh is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, Hammond B3 organ player and composer born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the first generation of his family to be born in the United States. Hugh grew up surrounded by classical music, his father being the classical music radio host Ivor Hugh (born in Hammersmith, England). His mother was born in Shanghai, the daughter of missionary Dr. Frank Rawlinson (born in Bath, England). Dr. Rawlinson's nine books, including a life of Christ in Chinese, are in the Yale University Divinity Library.
Hugh began playing the piano at three years old. In his early teens, however, rock and roll and soul won out. He played for a year as the pianist in an African-American gospel church and studied African drumming. He also studied piano with jazz pianist Jaki Byard and avant garde pianist Ran Blake. During his twenties, Hugh supplemented his income as a rock and soul musician by accompanying modern dance classes. This began his association as composer for several well-known choreographers, notably the late Viola Farber of New York, Prometheus Dance and Christine Bennett of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also briefly attended film school at the University of Bridgeport.
In 1980, Hugh released a self-titled album (One in Nineteen Records, 1980). This album was produced by the late Ron Scalise, winner of fourteen Emmy Awards for audio work with ESPN.
In 1987, Hugh was signed to RCA Records. He broke into the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 with three singles from his album Blind to Reason (RCA Records, 1988). "Talk It Over", a song written by Sandy Linzer and Irwin Levine that Hugh arranged, reached the Top 20. After Hugh had arranged and recorded this song, Olivia Newton-John was given rights of first release, then recorded it herself and released it as a single under the name "Can't We Talk It Over In Bed". Hugh subsequently released his version which became a hit. His two other singles "Bring It All Back" and "How 'Bout Us" (a remake of the 1981 Champaign hit recorded with Betty Wright) were also radio hits. Blind to Reason eventually went gold in Australia.
Hugh's second major label album Road to Freedom (MCA Records, 1992) was voted "one of the year's top-ten albums" by Billboard Magazine and received rave reviews. Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald said: "Have I heard any newcomer in the last decade who excites me as much as this guy? No."[1]
Director Ridley Scott heard an advance pressing of Road to Freedom and wanted to put Hugh's music in his film Thelma & Louise (1991).[2] They eventually settled on two: "I Can't Untie You From Me" and "Don't Look Back". Hugh's gospel-tinged arrangement of Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You" was the featured end-title song for the film Fried Green Tomatoes (1991).[3]
In 1993, the A&R man who signed Grayson to MCA Records (the late Paul Atkinson) was fired, and Hugh was dropped from the label, along with the other acts Atkinson had signed. After a few years living and writing songs in rural North Carolina he wound up teaching songwriting at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
In August, 2008 Hugh married his backup singer Polly Messer, Best Female Vocalist of CT (1981 - The Hartford Advocate), and former singer with the Connecticut swing band Eight To The Bar. Hugh's eagerly-awaited recording "An American Record", his first in fifteen years, was released on May 1, 2010.
Contents |
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | U.S. Adult Contemporary | U.S. Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles | Australia Aria Charts | ||
| 1989 | "Talk it Over" | #19 | #9 | - | #4 |
| 1989 | "Bring it All Back" | #87 | #9 | - | - |
| 1990 | "How 'Bout Us?" (duet with Betty Wright) | #67 | - | #30 | |