Margie Joseph -

Margie Joseph is an American soul singer who had R&B hits with the 1973–74 singles “Come Lay Some Lovin’ on Me,” “My Love,” and “Words (Are Impossible).” In 1975, she harmonized with Blue Magic on their hit “What’s Come Over Me.”

Between 1970 and 1978, she released two albums on Volt and four on Atlantic, plus the 1976 Cotillion title Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling. In 1982, she scored an R&B comeback hit with “Knockout.”

Background

She was born Margaret Marie Joseph on August 19, 1950, in Gautier, Mississippi. From a young age, she sang in the choir of her local church. In 1967, she enrolled at Dillard University in New Orleans, where she majored in speech and drama. On a break from her studies, she cut demos at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama.

Okeh Singles

Margie Joseph linked with the songwriting team of George Davis and Lee Diamond. She cut her first two singles between December 1967 and May 1968 on Okeh Records, a veteran R&B label distributed by Epic. Diamond co-produced both singles with New Orleans radio disc jockey Larry McKinley, Margie’s manager and eventual husband.

A. “Why Does a Man Have to Lie”
B. “See Me”

A. “A Matter of Life or Death”
B. “Show Me”

Volt Singles (1969–70)

In early 1969, Margie Joseph signed with Volt, a division of the Memphis-based Stax label. McKinley, produced both sides of her Volt debut, the March ’69 single “Never Can You Be” (b/w “One More Chance”), written by Gaturs keyboardist Wilson Turbinton (aka singer Willie Tee), who arranged the single with his bandmate and brother, Earl Turbinton.

A. “Never Can You Be”
B. “One More Chance”

For her October 1969 second Volt single, Margie recorded “What You Gonna Do,” a Bobby Womack cover backed with “Nobody,” her third Turbinton-penned side.

A. “What You Gonna Do”
B. “Nobody”

In August 1970, Margie released her third non-album Volt single: “Your Sweet Lovin’,” written by veteran songwriter Fred Briggs (Pat Lundy, Carla Thomas, Ben E King), who co-wrote and co-produced the b-side with Stax hitmaker Darryl Carter.

A. “Your Sweet Lovin'”
B. “What’s Wrong Baby”

“Your Sweet Lovin'” broke Margie through on the Billboard Hot R&B chart, where it reached No. 46. In 1993, Salt-N-Pepa sampled its backing track for their single “None of Your Business”.

Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression

Margie Joseph released her debut album, …Makes a New Impression, on October 23, 1970, on Volt.

The album draws on two distinct regional sounds — the low-end funk of Memphis and the orchestral fullness associated with Detroit soul — and moves between them track by track without losing coherence. Arrangers Dale Warren, Darryl Carter, and Fred Briggs divide duties, with Warren handling the string and horn charts. The Bar-Kays and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section provide the rhythm tracks, giving the record a physical, bottom-heavy pulse. The album opens with a two-minute spoken monologue, “Women Talk,” written and delivered by Joseph, before the eight-minute arrangement of the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love” takes over side one in full.

“Stop! In the Name of Love” opens on restrained orchestral motion and builds through a series of shifting rhythmic layers — rock-solid guitar riffs, swelling strings, a rangy horn chart — into an extended, Isaac Hayes-style construction that runs far beyond the original’s framework. “Punish Me” takes a minor-keyed, mid-tempo shape with the orchestra carrying most of the density, while “Medicine Bend” and “Same Thing” work from a brighter, more Detroit-leaning bounce. “Sweeter Tomorrow” leans toward Southern funk, low and greasy. “Come Tomorrow” opens as a slow, introspective ballad and shifts mid-track into a bossa nova rhythm, Joseph pacing her delivery carefully between restrained and full-voiced. “How Beautiful the Rain” runs in a similar understated mode. “I’m Fed Up” returns to a harder, fatback-driven framework. “Make Me Believe You’ll Stay” — the album’s most horn-forward track — builds through a mid-tempo arrangement where brass writing takes the lead, and Joseph sustains a high-pressure vocal above it. “Temptation’s About to Take Your Love” closes the record on the most aggressive note of the set, built around fuzz guitar and a driving rock-influenced rhythm.

A1. “Monologue: Women Talk” (2:45) — Margie Joseph
A2. “Stop! In the Name of Love” (8:06) — Holland-Dozier-Holland
A3. “Punish Me” (3:30) — Darryl Carter/Fred Briggs
A4. “Medicine Bend” (2:57) — Dave Butler/Fred Briggs
A5. “Come Tomorrow” (4:01) — Darryl Carter/Fred Briggs

B1. “Sweeter Tomorrow” (3:12) — Fred Briggs
B2. “Same Thing” (2:10) — Margie Joseph
B3. “How Beautiful the Rain” (2:39) — Darryl Carter/Marvell Thomas/Nancy Pratt
B4. “I’m Fed Up” (2:45) — Darryl Carter
B5. “Make Me Believe You’ll Stay” (4:23) — John W. Anderson
B6. “Temptation’s About to Take Your Love” (3:27) — Fred Briggs

Margie Joseph recorded Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression at Stax Recording Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios with engineers Bobby Manuel, Ed Wolfrum, Jimmy Johnson, and Larry Hamby. Darryl Carter and Fred Briggs produced the album.

Volt issued “Stop! In the Name of Love” as a single in 1971. It reached number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 38 on the R&B chart. Margie Joseph Makes a New Impression peaked at number 67 on the Billboard 200 and number 7 on the R&B album chart.

Phase II

Margie Joseph released her second album, Phase II, on July 9, 1971, on Volt.

The album keeps to the Memphis-Detroit configuration of the debut, with Fred Briggs producing and arranging the rhythm tracks and Dale Warren handling strings and horns. The Bar-Kays provide the rhythm section backing, with Willie Hall on drums. Briggs plays piano throughout. Most of the material on Phase II runs at a similar tempo and weight to the debut, mixing uptempo tracks with orchestrated ballads, and the Hayesian string-and-horn treatment remains the primary textural device.

“That Other Woman Got My Man and Gone” opens the album in a mid-tempo framework where swelling strings and layered backing vocals shade a mood of controlled despair rather than hard funk. “My World Is Empty Without You” takes an expansive, brooding shape built from cascading strings, Hammond organ, flute, and dense backing vocals — an arrangement that runs considerably deeper than the Supremes’ original. “I’ll Always Love You” shifts to a brighter, finger-snapping uptempo with a tight brass chart. “Strung Out” stretches out slowly, with piano and organ fills carrying much of the melodic texture. “Please Don’t Stop Loving Me” runs in a mid-tempo pattern with prominent backing vocals at the front of the mix. “I Love You Too Much to Say Goodbye” develops at a slow, jazz-inflected pace and builds through a series of dynamic rises toward an orchestral peak. “Didn’t Have to Tell Me” breaks toward harder funk territory, with wah-wah guitar and bass driving the rhythm while the horns and strings drop back. “Takin’ All the Love I Can” closes the album on an uptempo note, combining the Memphis sound with a full Detroit-style horn and string arrangement.

A1. “That Other Woman Got My Man and Gone” (3:31) — Dorothy K. Briggs
A2. “My World Is Empty Without You” (5:19) — Holland-Dozier-Holland
A3. “I’ll Always Love You” (2:56) — R. Nocentelli
A4. “Strung Out” (3:52) — Fred Briggs

B1. “Please Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me” (3:03) — Fred Briggs
B2. “I Love You Too Much to Say Goodbye” (3:45) — Dorothy K. Briggs
B3. “Didn’t Have to Tell Me” (2:56) — R. Nocentelli
B4. “Takin’ All the Love I Can” (4:09) — Fred Briggs

Fred Briggs produced Phase II and arranged the rhythm tracks; Dale Warren arranged strings and horns. Engineers were Ron Capone and William Brown.

Margie Joseph

Margie Joseph released her self-titled third album in January 1973 on Atlantic.

The album marks a stylistic shift away from the Memphis-Detroit blend of her Volt recordings toward a more Northern soul sound built around the Atlantic house rhythm section. Arif Mardin arranged and conducted the entire record. Bernard Purdie drums throughout, with bassists Chuck Rainey and Jerry Jemmott alternating across tracks. Guitarists Cornell Dupree, David Spinozza, and Hugh McCracken divide session duties, with Ralph MacDonald handling most percussion. Backing vocals come from a large ensemble including Cissy Houston, Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell, and Deirdre Tuck. David Newman plays flute and saxophone on several tracks.

The album draws heavily from outside material, with Joseph covering Al Green (“Let’s Stay Together”), Etta James (“I’d Rather Go Blind”), Dolly Parton (“Touch Your Woman”), Brook Benton (“I’ll Take Care of You”), and Billy Joel (“He’s Got a Way” — credited here as “You Better Know It”). “Let’s Stay Together” moves at a patient, close-voiced pace that differs markedly from Green’s original. “I’d Rather Go Blind,” the album’s longest track at nearly six minutes, takes a slow, deeply felt approach with full orchestral support. Joseph and Mardin co-wrote “I’m So Glad I’m Your Woman,” which sits among the more assured moments on the record.

A1. “I Been Down” (3:09) — Maury Keener/Ron Galbraith
A2. “Make Me Believe You’ll Stay” (4:22) — John W. Anderson
A3. “Let’s Stay Together” (3:26) — Green/Jackson/Mitchell
A4. “Turn Around and Love You” (3:32) — Donna Weiss
A5. “I’m Only a Woman” (4:30) — Ben Peters
A6. “Let’s Go Somewhere and Love” (2:54) — Kenny Odell/Larry Henley

B1. “You Better Know It” (3:15) — Calvin White/David Williams
B2. “Touch Your Woman” (3:10) — Dolly Parton
B3. “I’ll Take Care of You” (3:37) — Brook Benton
B4. “I’m So Glad I’m Your Woman” (3:50) — Arif Mardin/Margie Joseph
B5. “How Do You Spell Love” (3:49) — Patterson/Strickland/Boxley
B6. “I’d Rather Go Blind” (5:41) — Billy Foster/Ellington Jordan

Margie Joseph recorded Margie Joseph at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, with engineer Gene Paul. Arif Mardin produced the album.

Atlantic issued “Let’s Stay Together” as a single in 1973; it reached number 43 on the R&B chart. Margie Joseph peaked at number 21 on the R&B album chart.

Sweet Surrender

Margie Joseph released her fourth album, Sweet Surrender, in January 1974 on Atlantic.

Arif Mardin again produced and arranged the record, this time drawing on two distinct rhythm section pairings that divide the tracklist between them. One — bassist Bob Babbitt, drummer Andrew Smith, guitarists David Spinozza and Norman Harris, keyboardists Pat Rebillot and Richard Tee, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion — handles the majority of the album. The other — Chuck Rainey on bass, Bernard Purdie on drums, Cornell Dupree and Hugh McCracken on guitar, and Richard Tee on keyboards and organ — takes a smaller number of tracks. Backing vocals come from Cissy Houston, Judy Clay, Gwen Guthrie, Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell, and Deirdre Tuck. Gene Orloff leads the string section.

The album covers a wide range of outside material with a consistent, polished touch. Wings’ “My Love” stretches across four and a half minutes in a slow, considered arrangement. Bread’s “Baby I’m-A Want You” and “Sweet Surrender” bring soft-rock material into a soul framework. Stevie Wonder’s “To Know You Is to Love You” runs at a smooth, mid-weight pace. “Ridin’ High,” co-written by Joseph and Mardin, opens side two with a more rhythmically assertive shape. “Come Lay Some Lovin’ on Me,” a Paul Kelly song, opens the record as a sweet, forward-moving soul piece. “(Strange) I Still Love You,” co-written by Jerry Butler, Norman Harris, and Mikki Farrow, runs in a fuller, more harmonically dense frame.

A1. “Come Lay Some Lovin’ on Me” (3:55) — Paul Kelly
A2. “(Strange) I Still Love You” (3:30) — Jerry Butler/Mikki Farrow/Norman Harris
A3. “Come with Me” (3:13) — Paul Kelly
A4. “Baby I’m-A Want You” (3:03) — David Gates
A5. “To Know You Is to Love You” (3:28) — Stevie Wonder

B1. “If I’m Still Around Tomorrow” (3:09) — Ralph MacDonald/William Salter
B2. “My Love” (4:25) — Paul McCartney/Linda McCartney
B3. “Ridin’ High” (3:24) — Arif Mardin/Margie Joseph
B4. “He’s Got a Way” (3:45) — William Joel
B5. “Sweet Surrender” (2:55) — David Gates

Margie Joseph recorded Sweet Surrender at Atlantic Studios with engineer Gene Paul. Arif Mardin produced the album.

Atlantic issued “Come Lay Some Lovin’ on Me” as a single; it reached number 32 on the R&B chart. “My Love” followed in 1974 and reached number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the R&B chart. Sweet Surrender peaked at number 165 on the Billboard 200 and number 56 on the R&B album chart.

Margie

Margie Joseph released her fifth album, Margie, in June 1975 on Atlantic.

The album maintains the Atlantic house framework of its predecessors — Arif Mardin producing and conducting — but shifts toward a slightly smaller, more consistent band configuration. Tony Levin plays bass on most of the record, with Steve Gadd on drums throughout the majority of tracks. Cornell Dupree and Hugh McCracken share guitar duties, Pat Rebillot and Richard Tee cover keyboards, Ralph MacDonald handles percussion, and Ken Bichel adds ARP synthesizer on most tracks. Cissy Houston, Myrna Smith, and Sylvia Shemwell provide backing vocals on side one. Charlie Brown plays tenor saxophone solos across the bulk of the album. Three tracks on side two use a different set of players — Bob Babbitt on bass, Bernard Purdie or Rasan Mfalme in the rhythm chair, and a different complement of guitarists and keyboardists — giving those cuts a slightly altered texture.

“Sign of the Times” and “Stay Still,” both co-written by Joseph and Mardin, frame the album’s original material. “Sign of the Times” runs in a funky, rhythmically driven mode with saxophone up front. “Stay Still” takes a longer, quieter path — slow-moving, with a carefully restrained vocal and a quiet-storm atmosphere that sustains across five minutes. Carole King’s “Believe in Humanity” and “After All This Time” bring more open, melodically direct material. Bill Withers’ “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” moves at a blues-tinged, mid-tempo pace. “Words (Are Impossible)” arrives as the album’s most unusual construction, with a different backing group giving it a rougher texture. “Just as Soon as the Feeling’s Over,” a Sam Dees song, runs slow and deliberate with electric piano in the foreground.

A1. “Sign of the Times” (3:03) — Arif Mardin/Margie Joseph
A2. “Believe in Humanity” (2:39) — Carole King
A3. “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh” (4:37) — Bill Withers
A4. “Who Gets Your Love” (3:10) — Brian Potter/Dennis Lambert
A5. “Promise Me Your Love” (4:23) — Ralph MacDonald/William Salter
A6. “If You Walked Away” (3:52) — David Pomeranz

B1. “Stay Still” (5:00) — Arif Mardin/Margie Joseph
B2. “After All This Time” (3:52) — Carole King
B3. “Words (Are Impossible)” (3:39) — Bobby Hart/Danny Janssen/E. Riccardi
B4. “Just as Soon as the Feeling’s Over” (4:02) — Sam Dees
B5. “I Can’t Move No Mountains” (2:40) — Michael Gately/Robert John

Margie Joseph recorded Margie at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York, with recording engineer Gene Paul. Arif Mardin produced the album.

Atlantic issued “Words (Are Impossible)” as a single; it reached number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 27 on the R&B chart. “Stay Still” followed in 1975 and reached number 34 on the R&B chart. Margie peaked at number 53 on the R&B album chart.

Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling

Margie Joseph released her sixth album, Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling, in June 1976 on Cotillion.

Lamont Dozier produced and wrote or co-wrote all nine tracks, and the album marks a departure from the Arif Mardin productions — rawer in vocal approach, more sparse in arrangement, and built on a Los Angeles-based rhythm section rather than the New York players who had anchored the Atlantic records. Drums divide among Ed Greene, James Gadson, and Ollie Brown across different tracks. The guitar roster runs wide — Ben Benay, Bill Neal, Charles Fearings, Dean Parks, Gary Bell, Lee Ritenour, and Ray Parker Jr. all appear. McKinley Jackson and John Barns share electric piano duties with Sylvester Rivers and Jerry Peters on acoustic piano.

The two uptempo numbers that open side two — “Didn’t I Tell You” and “Why’d You Lie” — take a direct, confrontational tone, with Joseph’s delivery pushed to a harder edge than on the Atlantic records. “Prophecy” sits at the album’s center with subtle horn writing and a close-knit rhythm guitar pattern carrying the arrangement through a searching, inward-looking lyric. “All Cried Out” and “Feeling My Way” run as longer ballads where Joseph’s phrasing opens up across extended arrangements. The title track opens the record at a slower, sustained pace and reached the R&B singles chart. “Something to Fall Back On” and “I Get Carried Away” fill out the sides at a moderate, unhurried tempo.

A1. “Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling” (4:38) — L. Dozier/M. Jackson
A2. “Didn’t I Tell You” (2:54) — R. Dozier/R. Wylie
A3. “Why’d You Lie” (5:22) — L. Dozier
A4. “Prophecy” (5:19) — L. Dozier

B1. “All Cried Out” (5:22) — L. Dozier
B2. “Something to Fall Back On” (3:50) — L. Dozier
B3. “Don’t Turn the Lights Off” (4:35) — L. Dozier
B4. “Feeling My Way” (6:15) — L. Dozier
B5. “I Get Carried Away” (3:45) — A. Wylie/R. Dozier

Margie Joseph recorded Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling at Kendun Recorders, Crystal Sound, Devonshire Studios, and ABC Recording Studios. Lamont Dozier produced the album.

Cotillion issued “Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling” as a single in 1976; it reached number 18 on the R&B chart. “Don’t Turn the Lights Off” followed and reached number 46 on the R&B chart. Hear the Words, Feel the Feeling peaked at number 38 on the R&B album chart.

Live!

In 1976, WMOT Records issued Live!, a double-album co-billed to Blue Magic, Major Harris, and Margie Joseph.

The set finds Margie Joseph opening the concert alongside her co-headliners before taking a solo stretch across the first half of side one. Her portion moves through a range of material — a reading of Morris Albert’s “Feelings,” an original, the Wings ballad “My Love” — before she rejoins Major Harris for a duet and later pairs with Blue Magic for three numbers across side four. The arrangements come from several hands: Richard Rome handles the solo Joseph tracks and the Harris duet; Jack Faith takes “Ridin’ High” and “I Love Music”; Vincent Montana Jr. conducts the Blue Magic set and the closing duets with Joseph.

Margie Joseph’s numbers and duets:

A1. Blue Magic, Major Harris & Margie Joseph — “I Love Music” (2:42) — arranged by Jack Faith; Kenny Gamble/Leon Huff
A2. Margie Joseph — “Feelings” (3:52) — arranged by Richard Rome; Morris Albert
A3. Margie Joseph — “Ridin’ High” (4:56) — arranged by Jack Faith; Arif Mardin/Margie Joseph
A4. Margie Joseph — “My Love” (4:32) — arranged by Richard Rome; Paul McCartney/Linda McCartney
A5. Major Harris & Margie Joseph — “You’re a Special Part of Me” (4:35) — arranged by Richard Rome; Andrew Porter/Greg Wright/Harold Johnson

D1. Blue Magic & Margie Joseph — “What’s Come Over Me” (5:45) — arranged by Vincent Montana Jr.; Ted Mills
D3. Blue Magic & Margie Joseph — “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” (5:30) — arranged by Norman Harris
D4. Blue Magic & Margie Joseph — “Funny Guy, Funny Girl, Funny Love” (2:56)

Margie Joseph recorded her portions of Live! at the Latin Casino, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, captured by Wally Heider Recording. The album was mixed and edited at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, and lacquer cut at Frankford/Wayne Recording Labs. Norman Harris produced D3 and D4.

Feeling My Way

Margie Joseph released her seventh studio album, Feeling My Way, in 1978 on Atlantic.

Johnny Bristol produced, wrote, or co-wrote all ten tracks, giving the album a consistent Motown-adjacent character — full string and horn arrangements from Hense Powell on most tracks, with Sonny Burke taking “I Love Talking ‘Bout Baby.” The rhythm section stays largely fixed across the record: James Gadson on drums, James Jamerson Jr. on bass, David T. Walker on guitar soloing throughout, and Al McKay and David Williams sharing rhythm guitar on several tracks. Lee Ritenour handles guitar on three tracks. Ray Chew plays Yamaha electric piano on select numbers. Ernie Watts contributes saxophone solos. Backing vocals come from the group billed as Deshalyn — Deborah Tibbs, Maisha Grimes, and Lynda Evans.

The album moves at a measured pace throughout, built around orchestrated ballads and midtempo pieces that showcase Joseph’s voice within carefully contained arrangements. “Come on Back to Me Lover” reached the R&B singles chart, as did “I Feel His Love Getting Stronger.” The material holds consistently to the romantic and devotional themes Bristol favored in his work for other artists.

A1. “I Feel His Love Getting Stronger” (3:38) — James Jamerson Jr./Johnny Bristol
A2. “Come on Back to Me Lover” (3:22) — Johnny Bristol
A3. “You Turned Me On to Love” (3:49) — Johnny Bristol
A4. “I Love Talking ‘Bout Baby” (3:43) — Johnny Bristol
A5. “He Came into My Life” (3:38) — Johnny Bristol/Sandra Leoncavallo

B1. “Picture of a Clown” (2:58) — Hense Powell/Johnny Bristol
B2. “How Will I Know” (3:53) — Johnny Bristol/Robert Torres
B3. “Love Takes Tears” (3:16) — Johnny Bristol
B4. “All Good-Bye’s Aren’t Gone” (2:58) — Johnny Bristol
B5. “Discover Me (And You Will Discover You)” (3:04) — Beatrice Verdi/Doris McNeil/Johnny Bristol

Margie Joseph recorded Feeling My Way at Davlen Sound Studios, North Hollywood, California. Johnny Bristol produced the album.

Atlantic issued “Come on Back to Me Lover” as a single in 1978; it reached number 85 on the R&B chart. “I Feel His Love Getting Stronger” followed and reached number 94 on the R&B chart.

Knockout!

Margie Joseph released her eighth (ninth-recorded) studio album, Knockout!, in 1983 on Houston Connection.

David Weatherspoon Jr. and Tom Jones III produced and wrote all eight tracks, working with a Memphis-based team. Lester Snell plays keyboards, Fender Rhodes, and acoustic piano throughout and handled the string arrangement. Mark Bynum and Jimi Kinnard contribute synthesizer programming. Jimi Kinnard doubles on bass, guitar, and percussion. Michael Beard plays drums. String players Jack Abell, Judith Nelson on viola, and a violin section of five round out the orchestral complement. The album was engineered primarily at HCRC Studio and mastered at CBS Studios, New York.

The album runs through eight mid-tempo and uptempo dance-oriented tracks, with the extended “Knockout Special Mix” stretching to over six minutes. Lester Snell’s string arrangement adds a layer of orchestration that sets the record apart from a fully stripped-down dance production.

A1. “Knockout Special Mix” (6:18)
A2. “Moove to the Groove” (6:21)
A3. “Come and Make Love with Me” (4:16)
A4. “Gonna Get You” (4:18)

B1. “Pull the Shade” (4:38)
B2. “The One You Can Trust” (4:47)
B3. “Give It to Me” (4:36)
B4. “I’m Blessed” (4:41)

Margie Joseph recorded Knockout! at HCRC Studio, engineered by Lola Blank, William C. Brown III, Mary Beth McLemore, and Steve Melton, with New York mixing by John Morales and Sergio Munzibai. David Weatherspoon Jr. and Tom Jones III produced the album.

Houston Connection issued “Knockout” as a single in 1982; it reached number 12 on the R&B chart and number 32 on the US Dance chart. Knockout! peaked at number 34 on the R&B album chart.

Ready for the Night

Margie Joseph released her ninth studio album, Ready for the Night, in 1984 on Cotillion.

Narada Michael Walden plays drums on every track and served as executive producer, with Preston Glass and Randy Jackson sharing production credit. The core band — Glass on keyboards, glockenspiel, and marimba; Frank Martin on keyboards and synthesizer; Jackson on bass and synthesizer; Corrado Rustici on guitar; and Mingo Lewis on percussion — stays consistent across most of the record. Walter Afanasieff plays Fender Rhodes on “Take Me Away Tonight” and vocoder on “Ready for the Night.” Jerry Hey handles flugelhorn on “Is It Gonna Be Me & You” and trumpet on “I Wants Mo’ Stuff,” where he also arranged the horns; Marc Russo plays saxophone on both tracks. “Adonai” draws in Preston Glass’s Yamaha DX7 and Mellotron alongside a string arrangement by Hey. Boni Boyer, Jim Gilstrap, John Lehman, Liz Jackson, and Vicki Randle contribute backing vocals across most of the album.

The album opens with a dense, synthesizer-heavy title track built around Simmons drum fills, sequenced bass, and a vocoder line. “Midnight Lover” moves at a similar midtempo pace with DX7 and OB8 synthesizers carrying the harmonic weight. “Take Me Away Tonight” pulls back slightly, with acoustic guitar and Fender Rhodes giving the arrangement a warmer texture. “Big Strong Man” stretches to over six minutes on a Roland and OB8-driven framework. “I Wants Mo’ Stuff” breaks the prevailing electronic texture with live horns up front. “Adonai,” the closing track, sits in a slower, devotional register with strings framing Joseph’s most open-voiced delivery on the record.

A1. “Ready for the Night” (5:13) — Narada Michael Walden/Preston Glass
A2. “Midnight Lover” (4:42) — Liz Jackson/Randy Jackson
A3. “Take Me Away Tonight” (4:43) — B. Hull/N.M. Walden/P. Glass
A4. “Big Strong Man” (6:12) — L. Jackson/Walden/Glass/R. Jackson

B1. “Tell Me” (4:46) — David Weatherspoon Jr./Tom Jones III
B2. “Is It Gonna Be Me & You” (4:57) — Martin/L. Jackson/Walden/Glass/R. Jackson
B3. “I Wants Mo’ Stuff” (5:30) — Hull/Walden/Austin/Glass
B4. “Adonai” (5:29) — A. Glass/Joseph/Walden/P. Glass

Margie Joseph recorded Ready for the Night at The Automatt, San Francisco, California, with first engineer David Frazer. Preston Glass and Randy Jackson produced the album.

Cotillion issued “Ready for the Night” as a single in 1984; it reached number 69 on the R&B chart and number 12 on the UK Disco & Dance chart. “Midnight Lover” reached number 42 on the US Dance chart.

Discography: