Jocelyn Brown -

Jocelyn Brown (born Nov. 25, 1950) is an American soul singer from Kinston, NC.

Jocelyn Brown (born Nov. 25, 1950) is an American soul singer from Kinston, North Carolina, who moved from New York studio groups to the 1984 album Somebody Else’s Guy, the 1987 Warner Bros. release One From the Heart, and the 1991 BR Music set Absolutely. Her title single reached No. 2 on Billboard Hot Black Singles and No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Jocelyn Laurette Brown was born on Nov. 25, 1950, in Kinston, North Carolina. Her musical family included aunt Barbara Roy, singer with Ecstasy, Passion & Pain; Brown’s mother, grandmother, two other aunts, and a cousin also sang. She joined church choirs in Brooklyn and later served as a soloist at an uncle’s church in Washington, D.C.

Brown moved into secular work with Machine and Kleeer, then built a New York studio résumé through Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, Musique, Dazzle, Cerrone, Inner Life, Change, and the Salsoul Orchestra. Bette Midler enlisted her as a Harlette for the 1980 concert film Divine Madness, alongside Ula Hedwig and Diva Gray. Vinyl Dreams prepared Brown’s first LP for a 1984 release.

Somebody Else’s Guy

Brown released her first album, Somebody Else’s Guy, in 1984 on Vinyl Dreams.

The seven-track LP assembled solo recordings with Inner Life material and a short Frederick “M.C. Count” Linton reprise. Brown appears on every selection; the sequence juxtaposes full-length masters with a closing title-song recapitulation.

A1. “Somebody Else’s Guy” (6:28) – Jocelyn Brown, Annette E. Brown
A2. “I’m Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair)” (7:03) – Patrick Adams, Terri Gonzalez
A3. “Hot Blood” (4:57) – Brown

B1. “I Wish You Would” (5:32) – Brown, Nancy Bennett
B2. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (4:46) – Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson
B3. “Hot Natured Woman” (4:58) – Brown
B4. “I’m Somebody Else’s Guy” (3:51) – Brown, Frederick Linton

Brown produced the title track with Allen George and Fred McFarlane; Hugo Dwyer engineered and mixed the session. Patrick Adams produced the Inner Life selections. George and McFarlane next wrote and produced Jenny Burton’s 1985 single “Bad Habits,” with both credited for arrangement and mix work.

Trudy Schlachter photographed and art-directed the sleeve. Her nearby credits include France Joli’s Now! and D Train’s self-titled debut.

Fourth & Broadway issued “Somebody Else’s Guy” in April 1984 (b/w “Somebody Else’s Guy (Instrumental Dub)”), which reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The US release reached No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on Hot Black Singles, and No. 13 on Hot Dance/Disco.

The label followed in September with “I Wish You Would” (b/w “I’m Somebody Else’s Guy”), which reached No. 51 in Britain, No. 49 on Hot Black Singles, and No. 51 on Hot Dance/Disco.

Unidisc expanded the program on later CD and digital editions with remixes and dub versions.

One From the Heart

Brown released her second album, One From the Heart, in 1987 on Warner Bros.

The album replaced the retrospective construction of the debut with eight new studio tracks. Keyboardists Hubert Eaves III and Rob Mounsey appear across the New York sessions. Bassist Marcus Miller and drummer Steve Ferrone support “Living Without Your Love”; guitarist Felicia Collins and backing singer Patti Austin contribute to selected Benitez productions.

A1. “Ego Maniac” (5:04) – Hubert Eaves III, James Batton
A2. “Love’s Gonna Get You” (5:42) – Toni C.
A3. “Living Without Your Love” (4:49) – Doug James, Michael Bolton
A4. “I Cry Real Tears” (4:41) – Lotti Golden, Richard Scher

B1. “Caught in the Act” (4:40) – Toni C.
B2. “My Time Will Come” (4:41) – Batton
B3. “True Love” (4:15) – Arlene Matza, Bennett Salvay, Guy Thomas
B4. “Whatever Satisfies You” (4:45) – Gerry Goffin, Scott Cutler

The album drew on sessions at the Hit Factory, Sigma Sound, Z Studios, Sound Lab, Celestial, Flying Monkey, Greene Street, Power Station, and RPM in New York. John “Jellybean” Benitez produced five tracks and served as executive producer. Hubert Eaves III produced “Ego Maniac” and co-produced “My Time Will Come” with James Batton; Russ Titelman and Rob Mounsey handled “True Love.”

Michael Hutchinson engineered “Love’s Gonna Get You” and shared the remaining Benitez sessions with Doc Dougherty. Peter Diorio and Mike Potash recorded and mixed the Eaves–Batton material, with Ron Banks on recording. Rod Hui and Malcolm Pollack engineered “True Love.” Benitez also recorded Just Visiting This Planet in 1987, with Brown among the backing singers and Hutchinson as mix engineer.

The Warner sleeve places a close portrait beneath a script title and fingerprint motif.

“Love’s Gonna Get You” first appeared in 1985 and reached No. 1 on Hot Dance/Disco, No. 38 on Hot Black Singles, and No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Warner Bros. followed with “Ego Maniac,” which reached No. 5 on Hot Dance/Disco, No. 38 on Hot Black Singles, and No. 82 in Britain.

“Caught in the Act” reached No. 94 on Hot Black Singles, while “Whatever Satisfies You” peaked at No. 72 on the same survey. One From the Heart reached No. 65 on Billboard Top Black Albums.

Wounded Bird reissued the album on June 9, 2009, as a two-CD set with ten bonus mixes.

Absolutely

BR Music issued Brown’s third album, Absolutely, in the Netherlands in 1991 under catalog number BR 140-2.

The twelve-track set joins three Oliver Cheatham collaborations with a Heatwave feature. Brown’s 1984 title hit returns alongside covers of “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” and “Many Rivers to Cross.” The program uses a single CD sequence without LP-side divisions.

1. “Mindbuster” (4:09) – featuring Oliver Cheatham
2. “Freedom” (5:24)
3. “Somebody Else’s Guy” (4:20)
4. “Absolutely” (5:02)
5. “Reach Out” (4:51)
6. “I Want to Know What Love Is” (5:18)
7. “Turn Out the Lights” (4:13) – featuring Oliver Cheatham
8. “This Love Is True” (4:13) – featuring Oliver Cheatham
9. “Everyday” (4:02)
10. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (4:20) – featuring Heatwave
11. “Many Rivers to Cross” (4:52)
12. “No Excuse” (4:05)

Brown produced “Reach Out,” with Harri Kakoulli on added production and remix work. Kakoulli also produced “Freedom,” “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Everyday,” and “No Excuse”; Pete Yellowstone and Phil Radford handled the Oliver Cheatham recordings. Engineers Dave Ford, Graham Bonnett, Mark Frank, and Sheridan Tongue appear across the source masters.

Studio Eric Wondergem bNO supplied the cover and design. The Baarn firm also handled the 1991 Josephine Baker compilation J’ai Deux Amours (Mon Pays et Paris). Brown’s front image sets a red-orange profile against black with blue-and-white lettering; the package does not identify a photographer.

In August 1990, “Freedom” appeared with “Somebody Else’s Guy” and reached No. 83 on the UK Singles Chart.