Dee Dee Bridgewater -

Dee Dee Bridgewater is an American soul and jazz singer from Memphis. After numerous sessions for noted jazz artists, she made her solo debut with the 1974 album Afro Blue, followed by a self-titled 1976 Atlantic release and the 1977–79 Elektra titles Just Family and Bad for Me.

Background

Bridgewater was born Denise Eileen Garrett on May 27, 1950, in Memphis, Tenn., the daughter of jazz trumpeter and teacher Matthew Garrett. She was raised in Flint, Mich. At age 16, she gigged the local clubs with her first band, an R&B/rock trio. In 1969, she enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and toured the Soviet Union with the school’s jazz band.

In 1970, she met and married jazz trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater. They moved to New York City, where Cecil joined Horace Silver’s backing band. Soon thereafter, she became the lead vocalist in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

In 1972, Bridgewater sang on albums by Frank Foster (The Loud Minority) and Buddy Terry (Lean On Him), both released on Mainstream Records. That December, she dueted with singer Andy Bey on the numbers “Children of Forever,” “Unexpected Days,” and “Sea Journey” from the album Children of Forever, the debut solo release by Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke.

During 1973, she proliferated with credits on albums by Roy Ayers (Coffy and Virgo Red), Norman Connors (Love From the Sun and Dark of Light), and Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle). The following year, she sang on albums by Charles Sullivan (Genesis), Carlos Garnett (Black Love), Cecil McBee (Mutima), and Roy Brooks and the Artistic Truth (Black Survival – “The Sahel Concert” at Town Hall).

Afro Blue

Dee Dee Bridgewater released her debut album, Afro Blue, in 1974 on Trio Records, a Tokyo jazz label.

The album pairs Bridgewater’s commanding vocal presence with an ensemble of Japanese and American players, drawing on post-bop and fusion ideas with touches of soul and blues. The set places her interpretive range in varied settings, from long-form modal excursions to intimate ballads.

Mongo Santamaria and Oscar Brown Jr. wrote the opening title track. Horace Silver contributed “Love Vibrations,” which he also arranged. Cecil Bridgewater arranged four numbers and plays trumpet and kalimba, while his brother Ron adds tenor saxophone, percussion, and African castanets. She sings material by Bobby Hutcherson (“Little B’s Poem”), Roy Ayers (“Love From the Sun”), and The Stylistics (“People Make the World Go Round”).

The album opens with the percussive “Afro Blue,” where Bridgewater’s instrumentalized voice weaves through solos by Ron Bridgewater and Roland Hanna, climaxing with a drum feature by Motohiko Hino. “Love Vibrations” rides Hanna’s rolling piano figures under Bridgewater’s declarative phrasing. The eight-minute “Blues Medley (Everyday I Have the Blues / Stormy Monday Blues)” stretches into call-and-response passages with Dee Dee’s scat lines trading against Cecil Bridgewater’s trumpet. “Little B’s Poem” condenses her improvisational skill into a concise showcase over tenor sax and horn riffs. Side two balances this energy with a sequence of softer readings, including a stripped-down vocal–piano take on “Love From the Sun” and a serene closer in “People Make the World Go Round.”

A1. “Afro Blue” (8:25)
A2. “Love Vibrations” (5:52) originated on Silver’s 1970 album That Healin’ Feelin’.
A3. “Blues Medley (Everyday I Have the Blues / Stormy Monday Blues)” (8:06)

B1. “Little B’s Poem” (3:06) originated on Hutcherson’s 1966 album Components; co-credited here to Doug Carn.
B2. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (4:37) is a Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition for the 1969 Western buddy film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
B3. “Love From the Sun” (5:23) originated on Virgo Red by Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity.
B4. “People Make the World Go Round” (4:45) is a 1971 song by The Stylistics; composed by Thom Bell with lyrics by Linda Creed.

Sessions took place on March 10 and 12–14, 1974, at AOI Studios in Tokyo with producer T. Ishizuka and engineers M. Ohkawa and Y. Kannari. Bridgewater supervised under the Bridgewater Jazz Family banner.

Dee Dee Bridgewater (1976)

Dee Dee Bridgewater released her self-titled second album in September 1976 on Atlantic.

The album marks a stylistic shift from her jazz debut into R&B, funk, and disco-inflected soul. Bridgewater applies her commanding vocal timbre to orchestrated ballads, uptempo dance numbers, and Southern-style rhythm tracks, working with sessions recorded in New York, Los Angeles, and Muscle Shoals.

Allen Toussaint supplied “It Ain’t Easy,” while Peter Skellern wrote “My Lonely Room.” Side A includes a gender-reversed Hall & Oates cover. She also interprets “You Saved Me” (Bob Bateman, Ed Little), “Every Man Wants Another Man’s Woman” (Alan O’Day), and the French ballad “My Prayer” (Georges Boulanger, Jimmy Kennedy), which appears in two versions. Tom Bahler contributed “Going Through the Motions.”

The album opens with a brisk New York cut of “My Prayer,” reworked as a driving disco number. The Muscle Shoals band of Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood, Pete Carr, and Jimmy Johnson back Bridgewater on the Toussaint and Bahler numbers, plus a ballad reprise of “My Prayer.” The Los Angeles sessions, produced by Gene Page and Jerry Wexler, feature Ray Parker Jr., David T. Walker, Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, Bobbye Hall, and Merry Clayton on “My Lonely Room,” “He’s Gone,” and “You Saved Me.” The resulting album alternates between string-laden R&B and stripped-down Southern rhythm tracks, showing Bridgewater’s adaptability across settings.

A1. “My Prayer” (3:28)
A2. “My Lonely Room” (4:49)
A3. “It Ain’t Easy” (3:25)
A4. “He’s Gone” (5:54) originated as “She’s Gone,” a recent hit for Hall & Oates, first released on their 1973 album Abandoned Luncheonette but re-released in early 1976 after their breakthrough hit “Sara Smile.”

B1. “Going Through the Motions” (3:49)
B2. “You Saved Me” (4:26)
B3. “Every Man Wants Another Man’s Woman” (4:02)
B4. “My Prayer (Ballad)” (5:33)

Sessions occurred at Soundtek in New York (A1), Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama (A3, B1, B3, B4), and the Sound Factory in Los Angeles (A2, A4, B2). Stephen Y. Scheaffer produced the New York and Muscle Shoals tracks; Gene Page and Jerry Wexler produced the Los Angeles material. Engineers included Dave Hassinger, Gregg Hamm, Jerry Master, and Steve Melton. John Vogel mastered the album, which Lew Hahn and Scheaffer mixed.

Dee Dee Bridgewater features art direction by Bob Defrin and Paula Scher with cover photography by Steinbicker/Houghton.

Atlantic lifted “Going Through the Motions” backed with “Every Man Wants Another Man’s Woman” as a single.

Just Family

Dee Dee Bridgewater released her third album, Just Family, in December 1977 on Elektra.

The album presents Bridgewater in a polished R&B and soul context, arranged and produced by bassist Stanley Clarke with input from George Duke, Chick Corea, and Airto Moreira. Themes of family, relationships, and renewal run throughout, underscored by warm production, layered percussion, and electric keyboards.

Clarke wrote and arranged the title track and co-wrote “Children Are the Spirit (of the World)” with Duke, drummer Ndugu Chancler, and guitarist Raymond Gomez. Keyboardist Ronnie Foster contributed “Open Up Your Eyes,” while William Allen wrote the brief closer “Melody Maker.” Outside sources include Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” Michael Small and Michael Franks’ “Night Moves,” and John and Sharon Barnes’ “Sweet Rain.” Gilbert Moses supplied lyrics for three Bridgewater vocals, including “Maybe Today” and “Thank the Day.”

Bridgewater moves through contrasting settings: the propulsive opener “Just Family” and the upbeat “Children Are the Spirit (of the World)” counter the reflective “Maybe Today” and the soulful closer “Thank the Day.” Her rendering of “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” adds violin by Scarlet Rivera, while “Open Up Your Eyes” showcases Foster’s keyboard textures. “Night Moves” carries a cinematic quality, and “Melody Maker” ends the set in a playful, concise statement with Corea and Moreira.

A1. “Just Family” (5:12)
A2. “Maybe Today” (6:53)
A3. “Children Are the Spirit (of the World)” (3:04)
A4. “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” (4:53) originated on Elton’s 1976 album Blue Moves.

B1. “Sweet Rain” (3:03)
B2. “Open Up Your Eyes” (5:28)
B3. “Night Moves” (3:12)
B4. “Thank the Day” (5:17)
B5. “Melody Maker” (2:22)

Sessions occurred in October 1977 at Chateau Recorders in North Hollywood with producer Stanley Clarke and engineer Ed E. Thacker, assisted by Brian Leshon, Christopher Gregg, and Gary J. Coppola.

Elektra lifted the title track, “Just Family” (b/w “Thank the Day”), followed in early 1978 by “Sweet Rain” (b/w “Night Moves”).

Bad for Me

Dee Dee Bridgewater released her fourth album, Bad for Me, on April 25, 1979, on Elektra.

The album places Bridgewater in a funk-infused soul setting produced by George Duke, who also handled most arrangements. Layers of horns, electric keys, and percussion frame her vocals across a mix of uptempo numbers and orchestrated ballads.

Bridgewater co-wrote “For the Girls” with Duke and “Love Won’t Let Me Go” with keyboardist Larry Dunn. Dunn also co-wrote and arranged “Tequila Mockingbird” with R. J. Seeman. Bobby Lyle wrote “Don’t Say It (If You Don’t Mean It)” and arranged its horns with Duke. Additional contributions came from Clarence Veal Jr. and D. Thomas (“Bad for Me”), Eugene McDaniels and R. Styles (“Back of Your Mind”), David Kerr (“Streetsinger”), and Carole Bayer Sager with David Foster (“It’s the Falling in Love”). The closing “Is This What Feeling Gets?” originated from The Wiz and was written by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Quincy Jones.

A1. “Bad for Me” (5:35)
A2. “Back of Your Mind” (3:18)
A3. “For the Girls” (4:46)
A4. “Love Won’t Let Me Go” (4:00)

B1. “Streetsinger” (3:34)
B2. “It’s the Falling in Love” (3:36) – originated on Sager’s 1978 second album; also covered in 1979/80 by Michael Jackson and Dionne Warwick.
B3. “Tequila Mockingbird” (4:02)
B4. “Don’t Say It (If You Don’t Mean It)” (4:12)
B5. “Is This What Feeling Gets? (From the Motion Picture The Wiz)” (3:55)

Sessions occurred at studios in Los Angeles with producer George Duke. Ricky Lawson played drums throughout, Byron Miller and Alphonso Johnson alternated on bass, and Roland Bautista handled guitar. Sheila Escovedo and Paulinho da Costa added percussion, with horn sections arranged by Duke, Larry Dunn, and Eduardo del Barrio.

Bad for Me features cover design by Mental Block. Elektra issued “Bad for Me” backed with “Back of Your Mind” as a single.

Dee Dee Bridgewater (1980)

Dee Dee Bridgewater released her self-titled fifth album in 1980 on Elektra.

The album pairs Bridgewater with Philadelphia producer Thom Bell, who frames her vocals in sleek orchestrations rooted in late-period Philly soul with touches of quiet storm and disco. The set marks her final Elektra release before a shift toward stage work and eventual return to jazz.

Bell arranged and conducted most of the material and co-wrote four numbers, including “Lonely Disco Dancer” (with J. B. Jefferson and Richard Roebuck), “When Love Comes Knockin’” (with Dennis Caldirola and Joe Ericksen), “One in a Million (Guy)” (with Ericksen), and “Give In to Love” (with Linda Creed). Guitarist–keyboardist Casey James wrote “When You’re in Love” and co-wrote “Gunshots in the Night” with Leroy Bell, who also played percussion and handled arrangements with James on their two cuts. Alan and Preston Glass contributed “That’s the Way Love Should Feel,” and J. B. Jefferson wrote “Jody (Whoever You Are).”

“Lonely Disco Dancer” opens the album with layered strings, sharp horn accents, and a propulsive rhythm under Bridgewater’s vocal phrasing. “Gunshots in the Night” stretches past six minutes with dramatic pacing and orchestral swells. Side two balances the jazz-inflected ballad “When You’re in Love” with the smoother quiet-storm textures of “That’s the Way Love Should Feel” and “Give In to Love.”

A1. “Lonely Disco Dancer” (4:55)
A2. “When Love Comes Knockin’” (4:20)
A3. “One in a Million (Guy)” (4:43)
A4. “Gunshots in the Night” (6:27)

B1. “When You’re in Love” (6:24)
B2. “That’s the Way Love Should Feel” (4:28)
B3. “Give In to Love” (5:11)
B4. “Jody (Whoever You Are)” (4:14)

Sessions occurred at studios in Philadelphia and Los Angeles with producer Thom Bell. Casey James and Thom Bell alternated on keyboards, with Bob Babbitt on bass, Charles Collins on drums, and Bobby Eli and Billy Neale on guitars. Leroy Bell added percussion, joined by Larry Washington, while Don Renaldo’s Strings and Horns provided orchestral layers. Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson, Yvette Benton, Carl Helm, Frankie Bleu, and George Merrill sang backing vocals. Dirk Devlin, Jim Gallagher, and Ron Gangnes engineered the recordings.

Elektra lifted “One in a Million (Guy)” backed with “Give In to Love” as the album’s single.

Discography: