Martee Lebous -

Martee LeBous (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter from New York who released the cabaret/soul-pop album The Lady Wants to Be a Star on Image Records in 1976. A decade later, she resurfaced with the modified surname LeBow and released the 1986 mini-album Crimes of the Heart, followed by the 1987 longplayer Love’s a Liar, both on Atlantic.

Background

Martee LeBous came from Binghamton, New York, and took up piano at age three. A self-taught player, she began songwriting by age ten and entered the singer-songwriter field in her teens. In 1969, the nearby Woodstock festival galvanized her spirits. Her biggest musical influence was Leon Russell, who she met before her deal came through with Image Records, a division of Audiofidelity Enterprises, Inc. at 221 West 57th St.

The Lady Wants to Be a Star

Martee LeBous released The Lady Wants to Be a Star in 1976 on Image, with Audio Fidelity distribution.

She delivers a cycle of aspirational declarations, confessional ballads, and brisk nightlife turns with foregrounded vocals.

Tracks like “Nothing But Love,” “Chance to Dance,” and “Fallin’ In and Out of Love” display her extrovert side through buoyant vamps, bright refrain lines, and quick rhythmic snap. Her tenderness shows on “You Taught Me to Feel,” “If You Still Want Me,” “Friend in You,” and the title track, marked by longing, reassurance, and plainspoken resolve. “Ain’t It a Shame” cuts deep as an after-hours lament. “For David” and “My Inspiration” serve as tributes to special men in her life.

LeBous recorded the album with sixteen backing musicians, including keyboardist Barry Miles, bassist Will Lee, percussionist George Devens, violinist Manny Green, and guitarists John Tropea and Jeff Mironov. Select tracks feature horns by the Brecker Brothers, Joe Farrell, and ex-BS&T saxophonist Lou Marini, plus the New York String Section conducted by Gene Orloff.

A1. “Prelude/Nothing But Love” (4:21) — Nyro-esque piano/vocal intro asserts the album’s titular theme and heralds “Nothing But Love,” an upbeat disco vamp (in C major) with exuberant vocal quavering across sliding undercurrents.
A2. “You Taught Me to Feel” (3:47) — tender piano ballad with barren verses, which gradually overlay with strings that swell to a harmonized chorus with Martee’s foreground command.
A3. “For David” (4:08) — opens as a piano/vocal ode to her brother, revealed as a close, inspiring sibling in the spirited tune that ensues with jovial vocals, horns, and uptempo syncopation.
A4. “If You Still Want Me” (3:45) — moderato ballad with soft enmeshment of synth strings, smooth bass, and faint rhythmic piano under Martee’s gliding vocals.
A5. “I Belong to You” (3:42) — mid-tempo barroom funk (in G) with a syncopated New Orleans arrangement, rendered with impassioned vocal grit and neo-Dixieland vibes.
A6. “Friend in You” (4:12) — moderato piano ballad with heartfelt vocals and a long-resolving theme lifted with subtle synth strings and faint twang.
A7. “Willee or Won’t He?” (1:12) — harmonized disco-funk miniature that makes phonetic and literal double meaning of “Willee.”

B1. “My Inspiration” (3:20) — Manchester-esque ballad with epic build from piano-orchestral bars to oom-pah passages, resplendent in Martee’s spiritual voice. She dedicates the song to Leon Russell.
B2. “Chance to Dance” (3:20) — buoyant disco-pop (in C) with lively vocals and rhythmic slide, flanked with harmonies, piano filigree, and a tight, filtered guitar theme.
B3. “Ain’t It a Shame” (4:56) — an after-hours piano-blues where Martee narrates a heartbreak tale with gutsy vocal escalation.
B4. “(How Can You Lose) Something You Never Had” (3:08) — brassy descending motif heralds this fusion of R&B and Tin Pan Alley pop with Martee’s natural vocal preeminence.
B5. “Fallin’ In and Out of Love” (3:47) — tropical funk intro cuts to an uptempo disco number with brisk octave basslines and demanding high-register vocals.
B6. “The Lady Wants to Be a Star” (3:15) — humble singer–songwriter ballad with a subdued rhythmic arrangement that platforms Martee and her dreams of glory.

Sessions occurred with early Four Seasons producer Charlie Calello, who oversaw 1975/76 albums by Black Ivory, Cory Braverman, Frannie Gold, Henry Gaffney, Laura Nyro, and Tatsuro Yamashita, most involving Mironov and Tropea. Downtown Sound engineer Fred Miller recorded LeBous in sequence with Chiaroscuro jazz-funk titles by Tarika Blue and James Mason.

Tropea imparts touches aligned to his current work with Melba Moore, Norma Jenkins, Phoebe Snow, and the 1976 red albums by Lalo Schifrin and Sylvia Robinson. Lee played concurrently behind Earl Klugh, Idris Muhammad, Lonnie Smith, Lou Courtney, Pat Martino, Steve Marcus, and Narada Michael Walden. Third guitarist Jon Gordon later surfaced in Tycoon and the backing band of Suzanne Vega.

On the cover, a trench-coated LeBous stares with envy at a Manhattan record-store window display of albums by Barry Manilow, Carly Simon, Carol Douglas, Carole King, Diana Ross, Elton John, Helen Reddy, Natalie Cole, Peter Frampton, and Stevie Wonder. The liner notes stress her affinity for the spirit of Woodstock and how her “dream of a career in music started with that classic happening.”

The Lady Wants to Be a Star was the inaugural release on Image Records (IM-301), whose sporadic five-year discography includes titles by Astrud Gilberto, Teresa Brewer, and the French-Canadian disco trio Toulouse. Image mono/stereo promo singles of “Fallin’ In and Out of Love” and “My Inspiration.” LeBous performed the first of those on The Mike Douglas Show and promoted the album as an opening act for England Dan & John Ford Coley.

Interim

During the eight-year gap between press mentions, Martee LeBous purportedly did jingles and uncredited session work as a backing vocalist. The December 21, 1985, issue of Billboard magazine reported her reemergence on Atlantic under Raw Management with the modified surname LeBow.

Crimes of the Heart

Martee LeBow released her comeback EP, Crimes of the Heart, in January 1986 on Atlantic.

LeBow sets the EP on a hard, polished attack, with riff-led passages, bright keyboard sheen, and choruses that rise from close verse phrasing into a fuller strike. “Love Just Ain’t Enough” and “One Down” give the set its ballad weight, while “Crimes of the Heart,” “Stranded in the Moonlight,” and “Hearts of Stone” hold the tougher line.

The EP features bassist Neil Stubenhaus, drummer Mike Baird, guitarist Dan Huff, keyboardist Robbie Buchanan, and backing vocalists Steve Lively and Tommy Funderburk (ex-Airplay).

A1. “Crimes of the Heart” (3:47) — Jeff Silverman, Vicki Thomas; bluesy hi-def hard rock with a flowing chorus.
A2. “Stranded in the Moonlight” (3:42) — Michael Peter Smith; hi-tech percussive number with riff-laden passages.
A3. “Love Just Ain’t Enough” (3:34) — LeBow; piano/Fairlight ballad.
B1. “One Down” (3:44) — LeBow; belted rock ballad with searing leads and cumulative intensity.
B2. “Hearts of Stone” (4:14) — Bruce Springsteen

LeBow recorded Crimes of the Heart at Bill Schnee Studio with producer-arranger Robbie Buchanan and engineer-mixer Jack Puig at Ocean Way with Mama Jo’s Recording Studio.

The EP appeared in a monochrome color-pop sleeve photographed by David Michael Kennedy.

Atlantic issued “Crimes of the Heart” as a 12-inch promo and “Hearts of Stone” as a standard single (b/w “One Down”).

Love’s a Liar

Martee LeBow released her second full-length album, Love’s a Liar, in February 1987 on Atlantic.

LeBow performs six originals plus songs by Billy Cross and John Jarrett, a prior Hall & Oates co-writer (“Mano A Mano”). She co-wrote one track with Bernie Shanahan, a onetime Carolyn Mas collaborator who submitted “Another Lonely Heart.”

Love’s a Liar features guitarist Bobby Messano, bassist Dave Conrad, drummer Jimmy Clark (ex-Godz), and keyboardist Danny Stein. The album continues the hi-def rock of the EP with bluesy belted vocals and amplified guitar sheen.

A1. “Where Do I Stand” (3:34) — LeBow
A2. “Another Lonely Heart” (4:04) — Shanahan; uptempo E Street-style rocker with brisk piano-driven verses and sax refrains.
A3. “Love’s a Liar” (4:04) — Jarrett
A4. “Maybe You’ll Remember” (3:31) — LeBow, Shanahan
A5. “Learning the Hard Way” (3:30) — LeBow

B1. “Hang On (To My Reckless Youth)” (4:04) — Jarrett
B2. “Fallen Angel” (3:45) — LeBow
B3. “Forbidden” (5:05) — LeBow
B4. “I Must Be in Love” (3:58) — Cross
B5. “One Good Reason” (3:18) — LeBow

LeBow recorded Love’s a Liar at Power Station in New York and the House of Music in West Orange with producer John Jansen and engineers Bill Scheniman, Jansen, and Scott Litt.

Atlantic issued “Love’s a Liar” as a promo single in March 1987 with an accompanying video. “Where Do I Stand” appeared as a promo 12”, followed by “Hang On (To My Reckless Youth).”

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