Brenda & the Tabulations
Brenda & the Tabulations were an American R&B group formed in 1966 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally composed of Brenda Payton, Eddie L. Jackson, Maurice Coates and Jerry Jones.
History
The group had a distinctive, almost doo wop sound, especially at the start, featuring Payton's sweet occasionally rough-edged vocals with background male harmonies. The line-up changed around 1971 with the original three men departing. Two female backing singers (Pat Mercer and Deborah Martin) were brought in to support Payton.
The group had a series of hit singles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, mainly in the US soul charts and on small independent labels, Dionn and Top & Bottom, operated by the group's manager, Gilda Woods. However, two were big US pop hits: their first release, "Dry Your Eyes" (Pop #20, R&B #2) on Dionn in 1967 and "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue" (Pop #23, R&B #5) in 1971.[1] The first was written by Payton with group member Maurice Coates and produced by Bob Finiz and the latter written and produced by Van McCoy.
The group signed with Epic/Columbia in 1972 but, despite continuing to work with producer Van McCoy, the four singles released were relatively unsuccessful, with only "One Girl Too Late" managing to chart.
The group released three albums, Dry Your Eyes on Dionn (1967), Brenda and the Tabulations on Top & Bottom (1970), and I Keep Coming Back For More on Chocolate City/Casablanca (1977), although by the time of the last album, Brenda was a solo act while keeping the group name.
Brenda & the Tabulations are one of many recording artists referenced in the song "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by the studio group Reunion.
Brenda Payton, who was born on October 24, 1945, died on June 14, 1992, aged 46. Eddie L. Jackson died on May 3, 2010, from a brain aneurysm at the age of 63.[2]
The group's music saw a revival in awareness in 2011, when "The Wash" from the Dry Your Eyes album was licensed by Unilever for use in an Axe body wash commercial.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions[3] | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||||
| 1967 | Dry Your Eyes | 191 | 19 | Dionn | ||
| 1971 | Brenda & the Tabulations | — | — | Top & Bottom | ||
| 1977 | I Keep Coming Back for More | — | — | Chocolate City | ||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Record label | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||||
| 2000 | Right on the Tip of My Tongue | — | — | Jamie/Guyden | ||
| 2008 | The Dionn Singles Collection 1966-1969 | — | — | |||
| The Top and Bottom Singles Collection 1969-1971 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Chart positions[4] | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||||
| 1967 | "Dry Your Eyes" b/w "The Wash" |
20 | 2 | Dry Your Eyes | ||
| "Stay Together Young Lovers" / | 66 | 44 | ||||
| "Who's Lovin' You" | 66 | 19 | ||||
| "Just Once In A Lifetime" b/w "Hey Boy" |
97 | 41 | ||||
| "When You're Gone" b/w "Hey Boy" (from Dry Your Eyes) |
58 | 27 | Non-album tracks | |||
| 1968 | "Baby You're So Right For Me" / | 86 | — | |||
| "To The One I Love" | — | 45 | ||||
| "That's In The Past" b/w "I Can't Get Over You" |
— | — | ||||
| 1969 | "(You Gave Me) A Reason To Live" b/w "Hey Boy" (from Dry Your Eyes) |
— | — | |||
| "That's The Price You Have To Pay" b/w "I Wish I Hadn't Done What I Did" |
— | 43 | ||||
| "The Touch Of You" b/w "Stop Sneaking Around" (Non-album track) |
50 | 12 | Brenda and The Tabulations | |||
| 1970 | "And My Heart Sang (Tra La La)" b/w "Lies Lies Lies" |
64 | 12 | |||
| "Don't Make Me Over" b/w "You've Changed" |
77 | 15 | ||||
| 1971 | "A Child No One Wanted" b/w "Scuze Uz Y'all" |
120 | 42 | |||
| "Right On The Tip Of My Tongue" b/w "Always and Forever" (Non-album track) |
23 | 10 | ||||
| "A Part Of You" b/w "Where There's A Will (There's A Way)" |
94 | 14 | Non-album tracks | |||
| "Why Didn't I Think Of That" b/w "A Love You Can Depend On" |
107 | 34 | ||||
| 1972 | "Little Bit Of Love" b/w "Let Me Be Happy" |
— | — | |||
| 1973 | "One Girl Too Late" b/w "Magic Of Your Love" |
— | 48 | |||
| "Key To My Heart" b/w "Love Is Just A Carnival" |
— | — | ||||
| "Walk On In" b/w "I'm In Love" |
— | — | ||||
| 1976 | "Home To Myself" b/w "Leave Me Alone" |
— | 61 | I Keep Coming Back For More | ||
| 1977 | "(I'm A) Superstar" b/w "Take It Or Leave It" |
— | 31 | |||
| "I Keep Coming Back For More" b/w "Let's Go All The Way (Down)" |
— | — | ||||
| 1987 | "Don't Give Up The Love" b/w "In The Night" |
— | — | Non-album tracks | ||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||||
References
- ↑ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
- ↑ Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed May 2010
- ↑ "Brenda & the Tabulations US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
- ↑ "Brenda & the Tabulations US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-11-26.