Friday, 6 May 2016

494 Hello Jaki Graham* - Could It Be I'm Falling In Love




( *  David  Grant  and.....  )

Chart  entered  :  23 March  1985

Chart  peak : 5

Number  of  hits : 12

Jacqueline  Graham  was  born  in  Birmingham  in  1956  to  first  generation  immigrants.  She  got married  to  her  childhood  sweetheart  at  20. In  the  early  eighties  she  sang  with  unrecorded   jazz  funk  outfits  Ferrari  and  Medium  Wave and  toured  with  UB40  as  a  backing  vocalist. She was  noticed  by  an  EMI  talent  scout  and signed  to  the  label.

She  released  her  first  single "What's  the  Name  of  your  Game ? "  in  1983,  a  so-so  dance  tune which  sounds  like  Paul  Hardcastle  did  the  backing  track  with  a  production  that  didn't  do Jaki's  voice  any  favours. This  was  put  right  for  her  second  single  "Heaven  Knows "  a  sultry soul  number  written  by  producer  Derek  Bramble. Despite  getting  to  perform  it  on Crackerjack the  single  wasn't  a  hit  first  time  round  but  did  get  to  number  59  on  re-release   18  months  later.  Bramble  also  wrote  her  next  single  "Once  More  With  The  Feeling "  a  more uptempo  Motown-influenced  track  but  there was  still  no  sign  of  a  breakthrough.

For  that  reason  EMI  gave  her  the  go-ahead  to  record  this  duet  with  ex-Linx  singer  David Grant  on  his  label  Chrysalis. The  song  was  originally  a  number  11  hit  for  The  Detroit Spinners  in  1973  a  fine  pop  soul  number. Bramble  ups  the  tempo  and  beefs  up  the  rhythm section  but  otherwise  it's  pretty  faithful  to  the  original. As  the  bigger  name  - although  his  solo  career  was  faltering  by  this  time  - Grant  gets  the  lion's  share  of  the  song  despite  having  the  less  distinctive  voice. Getting    to  number  five  probably  over-rewarded  the  single  but  at  least  it  provided  the  springboard  for  Jaki's  subsequent  success.


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