LeRoy Hutson

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist , best known as the man who had the unenviable task of replacing Curtis Mayfield , one of the all-time great singer-songwriters, as lead singer of the legendary R&B vocal group, The Impressions.

He has been characterized as the best-kept secret of Seventies Soul, most recently noted in the June 29, 2006 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Early Years

As a teenager, Lee was a member of "The Nu-Tones," a four man vocal group based in New Jersey. They were the premier local group and won several major talent shows during Lee's grammar school years.

In 1968, as part of the duo Sugar & Spice Lee Hutson and Deborah Rollins recorded for Kapp Records. They recorded several singles with some success. Their single “In Love Forever” ranked the “Best New Record Of The Week” in the local newspaper column “Soul Sauce.” Two other singles recorded were “Ah Ha Yeah” and “Dreams.”

College Years

Initially attending renowned Howard University in Washington DC to study dentistry, Hutson switched his major to music, marking the beginning of Leroy’s musical career.

It was during those years on campus Hutson met many great people – Roberta Flack, Herbie Hancock, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, and of course, Donny Hathaway.

At Howard University, Hutson shared a room with Donny Hathaway for nearly three years. He also joined The Mayfield Singers, a group (including Hathaway) put together on Howard's campus by music legend Curtis Mayfield that performed at New York's famed Apollo Theater and Philadelphia's Uptown Theater. The group released one single for Curtis Mayfield in 1967.

There, developing his creative talents, Hutson collaborated with Hathaway on “The Ghetto”, giving the late recording star his first hit record in early 1970.

Years with the Impressions

In 1971, three months out of college, Hutson was asked to replace Curtis Mayfield as lead singer of The Impressions. He stayed with them for two and a half standing ovation years, and recorded two albums with the group, before amicably leaving to pursue his own career as a writer, producer, arranger, and musician.

The first Impressions single to feature Hutson as lead vocalist was entitled "Love Me", released on Curtom in America in June 1971.

Solo career

In 1973 Lee wrote, produced, arranged and recorded his first solo album, “Love Oh Love,” and through 1992 established himself with a successful recording career, recording eight albums and charting with some 13 singles in the U.S.A.

Over a ten year period from 1973 he developed a cult following on the soul scene, which remains loyal and untarnished to this day through solo albums for the Curtom label "Love Oh Love", "The Man", "Hutson", "Feel The Spirit", "Hutson II", "Closer To The Source" and "Unforgettable."

Indeed Hutson has proven himself to be an extremely talented and creative musician, not only as a fine near-falsetto vocalist but also as an expert on the keyboards and gifted writer and producer. On most of his work, Hutson wrote, produced, arranged and played multiple instruments.

[Edie Antoinette]

Well, the comment editor won't take the music so I'll have to put it in a blog...dag!

[Edie Antoinette]

Excellent..right on the money. I had this one and the one below, which is my favorite. I played this bad baby to a frazzle in 1975. I can't say enough about Leroy Hutson.

I'll be back with the music to this album--the whole thing is A+ fire...