Cory -

Cory Braverman is an American soul-rock vocalist who released the 1976 album Fire Sign. In 1982, she resurfaced with the standalone single “The Smirf.”

Profile

Little is known about Braverman before her emergence on the East Coast. She performed in proximity to The Band on the upstate Woodstock scene, which also spawned contemporaries Libby Titus and Martee LeBous. Braverman also appeared on a Ray Charles concert bill at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. In late 1975, she secured a deal with Phantom Records, a short-lived RCA subsidiary launched by ex-Mountain guitarist Leslie West.

Fire Sign

Cory Braverman released her singular album, Fire Sign, in 1976 on Phantom. She carries the R&B/ballad blend with deep, restrained vocal command, similar in tone to Patti Austin and Phoebe Snow.

The first two tracks plus “I Wanna Do It Over Again” present sharp edges with clipped accents, sliding refrain turns, and outward social statements. “Let Me Be the First One” and “Honey I Will Be There” draw inward with hushed openings, descending lines, and emotional choruses. “Take It or Leave It” and “Beyond the Hurt” restore rhythmic snap on side two. “I Saw the Light” and “One Step Away” close the set with tender phrasing, angular contour, and slow-building release.

She co-wrote five songs with outside partner Rick Ulfik, a subsequent disco keyboardist (Celia Bee, Lemon). Fire Sign also contains two songs by Braverman’s production team and material by Todd Rundgren and Rufus bassist Dennis Belfield. The album features thirteen backing players, including Catalyst bassist Anthony Jackson, Cosmic Echoes keyboardist Leon Pendarvis, Steely Dan auxiliary guitarist Elliot Randall, Stuff drummer Steve Gadd, veteran jazz vibraphonist George Devens, and ex-Ambergris serial percussionist Jimmy Maelen.

A1. “Party King” (3:50) — Braverman, Ulfik; buoyant soul-funk with bobbing bass, punchy horns, and a circular wah-wah figure that subtly underscores Cory’s emotive contralto.
A2. “Right Now” (3:36) — Belfield; moderato funk-rock with soulful restraint across an AWF-like arrangement of cocktail licks and clipped brass across a sliding rhythmic pattern. Also recorded by Maxine Nightingale on her 1977 second album Night Life.
A3. “Let Me Be the First One” (3:19) — Braverman, Ulfik; smooth soul ballad with earnest Crawford-esque vocals and heart-paced Fender Rhodes ambience.
A4. “I Wanna Do It Over Again” (3:30) — Appell, Medress, Robins; jovial double-entendre with sliding precision and laidback vibes, framed by a modulating five-note string riff.
A5. “Fire Sign” (4:01) — Braverman, Ulfik; warm ballad with misty verses and shimmering strings across a bass-laden, cloudy backdrop.

B1. “Take It or Leave It” (2:54) — Braverman, Ulfik; soul-pop moderato with strings, Fender, and Emotions-like harmonies across common-chord verses and a modulating chorus.
B2. “Honey I Will Be There” (3:56) — Braverman, Ulfik; slow, poignant ballad with descending verses and a flowering chorus, sung with honest reserve across a subtle string-laden blend of faint vibraphone and liquid leads.
B3. “Beyond the Hurt” (3:26) — Appell, Medress, Robins; medium-uptempo reflection on a recent romance.
B4. “I Saw the Light” (3:44) — Rundgren; Philly-style arrangement of the Something/Anything ballad with Cory’s contralto in deeper-voiced contrast to the tender tenor of Rundgren’s original.
B5. “One Step Away” (3:30) — Gordon; angular moderato ballad that flows and tightens with bass-pulse precision in a buildup to the swelling chorus.

Sessions occurred at the Hit Factory in New York City with arranger Dave Appell and Tokens co-founder Hank Medress, the production team behind recent albums by Frankie Valli and Melissa Manchester. Bill Radice, a onetime Lemon Pipers and Left Banke soundman, engineered Fire Sign in sequence with albums by Carol Douglas, Diamond Reo, Enchantment, and Fireballet.

Fire Sign shows Cory posed among antique furnishings in vintage 1920s attire, photographed by Nick Sangiano, whose images grace 1976/77 sleeves for Flame, Carolyn Franklin, Henry Gaffney, and Faith Hope & Charity. The designer, Craig DeCamp, oversaw mid-70s visuals for 21st Century, Blue Mitchell, Vickie Sue Robinson, and Zulema.

Phantom issued “I Saw the Light” as a single (b/w “Beyond the Hurt”). Cory’s cover of the 1972 Rundgren classic coincided with a Laurel Massé-sung Manhattan Transfer version of “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference,” another Something/Anything track.

“Party King” followed as a December 1976 single backed with “Fire Sign,” which itself appeared as a promo mono/stereo single and reached No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Fire Sign was among six LPs on Phantom, which also released an album by international singer Dana Valery and two each by Leslie West and The Deadly Nightshade, a feminist folk trio.

“I Saw the Light” appeared on Discocota, a 1977 Brazilian RCA comp with cuts by LA Jets and Sons of Champlin.

“The Smirf” / “The Smirf (Instr.)”

In 1982, Cory returned with the standalone 12-inch “The Smirf” (6:00) backed with “The Smirf (Instr.)” (4:05) on The Sound of Brooklyn, written and produced by Y. Dah (aka Kenton Nix).

Discography: