Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell, born Brenda Gordon on April 8, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist whose work spans R&B, pop, soul, dance, and jazz. Her father, Gus Gordon, was a former member of the Ink Spots, and her mother worked as a singer and songwriter. When Russell was twelve, her family relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As a teenager she performed with local bands and joined a Toronto-based girl group called the Tiaras, alongside Jackie Richardson, Arlene Trotman, and Colina Phillips. The group released one single, "Where Does All The Time Go," on Barry Records in 1968.

In her mid-teens Russell encountered the Soul Searchers, later opening for the group at live performances. During her late teens she joined the Toronto production of Hair, a period during which she also began playing piano. In the early 1970s she married Scottish-Canadian musician Brian Russell while both were members of the band Dr. Music. Together they produced Rufus's "Please Pardon Me," contributed backing vocals to Neil Sedaka's "Laughter in the Rain," and performed as backing vocalists for Elton John at Wembley Stadium on June 21, 1975. Recording as Brian & Brenda, the pair released two albums on John's Rocket label: Word Called Love in 1976 and Supersonic Lover in 1977. They also appeared on two tracks from Robert Palmer's album Double Fun. The couple's daughter, Lindsay, was born in 1977, and following their divorce Russell established a solo career based in Los Angeles.

Russell's self-titled debut album appeared on A&M Records in 1979, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its track "So Good So Right" climbed to number 8 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart, number 15 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, and number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. She co-wrote two tracks for Earth, Wind & Fire's 1980 album Faces, among them the hit single "You," and contributed the hit "I've Had Enough" to their 1981 album Raise. Her second solo album, Love Life, was released on A&M that same year. In 1982 she co-wrote and sang backing vocals on "Breakout" for Patrice Rushen's album Straight From The Heart, and was among the ensemble of artists — including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, and Stevie Wonder — featured on Donna Summer's "State of Independence." Russell's third album, Two Eyes, followed on Warner Bros. Records in 1983, after which she spent time in Sweden writing new material.

Returning to A&M, Russell released her fourth album, Get Here, in 1988. It produced her highest-charting single, "Piano in the Dark," featuring Joe Esposito, which reached the top ten in the United States and the top thirty in the United Kingdom and earned three Grammy nominations. The album itself peaked at number 77 on the UK charts, her first charting album there. Its title track, written by Russell, was later recorded by Oleta Adams for her 1990 album Circle of One and became a transatlantic hit for Adams in 1991. Russell's fifth album, Kiss Me with the Wind, arrived in 1990 and included her own recording of "Dinner with Gershwin," a song she had written earlier that became a hit for Donna Summer in 1987, with Russell serving as co-producer on Summer's version. In 1991 Russell wrote and produced "Forever" for Phil Perry's album The Heart of the Man and appeared on the charity single "Voices That Care," which reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart. That year she also contributed to Joni Mitchell's album Night Ride Home and the Yellowjackets' 1992 release Live Wires.

A&M issued Russell's first Greatest Hits collection in 1992, and her sixth studio album, Soul Talkin', appeared on EMI Records in 1993. She co-wrote and produced "Let Somebody Know" for Diana Ross's 1995 album Take Me Higher and later recorded her own version of the song for her 2004 album Between the Sun and the Moon. Russell also recorded two songs for the 1999 film Liberty Heights, in which she appeared on screen. Her 2000 album Paris Rain, released on Hidden Beach Records, featured contributions from Carole King, Dave Koz, and Sheila E. Between the Sun and the Moon was released by UK label Dome Records in 2004, preceded by the 2003 Dome compilation So Good, So Right: The Best of Brenda Russell.

Russell's Broadway career centers on the 2005 musical adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, produced by Oprah Winfrey. Russell wrote the score alongside lyricists and composers Allee Willis and Stephen Bray. The production earned Russell and her collaborators a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score in 2006 as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Show Album. In 2016, Russell received a Grammy Award in the category of Best Musical Theater Album for The Color Purple, bringing her total Grammy nominations to five.

Russell made her home in Los Angeles for approximately thirty years before relocating to Texas in 2015. Among the lasting marks of her songwriting catalog, "Piano in the Dark" has been interpolated in subsequent recordings, and "A Little Bit of Love" has been sampled more than a dozen times by artists including Big Pun, Thalía, Ariana Grande, and MoStack.