A debut with several musical languages
Released in 1970, Donny Hathaway’s debut brings gospel, soul and jazz into one programme. Everything Is Everything presents a singer and pianist who is also an arranger and musical organiser. Producing with Ric Powell, Hathaway places original material alongside music associated with Ray Charles, Erroll Garner and Nina Simone.
That flexibility had developed before he made the album. He studied at Howard University, met Leroy Hutson there and later worked for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom operation in Chicago. The debut brings experience gained behind the scenes into focus under his own name.
A groove at the centre
“The Ghetto”, written with Hutson, gives electric piano and percussion room to develop. Henry Gibson’s congas are part of the performance. For much of the piece, short vocal calls work within the ensemble rather than carrying a conventional sequence of verses.
Follow the rhythm for a complete pass. Notice how piano and percussion connect and when a voice changes the scene. Repetition becomes an active part of the arrangement, with small interventions giving a recurring pattern its momentum.
From a standard to a closing statement
“Misty” draws on the jazz repertoire, while “I Believe to My Soul” comes from Ray Charles. “Thank You Master (For My Soul)” makes Hathaway’s gospel background especially clear. Phil Upchurch contributes guitar and, on several tracks, bass; the personnel change with the needs of the music.
Nina Simone and Weldon Irvine’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” closes the album, with the Vashonettes joining the vocal forces. Listen to the shift between the individual singer and the group. Its scale differs from an intimate piano passage, but both belong to the same musical outlook.
Four sides in the Atlantic 75 series
AAPA 052-45 spreads the nine album tracks across two 180-gram records at 45 RPM. The publisher specifies QRP and a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. The closing track occupies the entire fourth side. The LP’s publisher page does not identify a mastering engineer or tape source, so credits from the separate SACD are not transferred to this edition. The programme does not include “A Dream”, added to a later CD release.
You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and dispatch from Hilden.
More from the series: Atlantic 75 Series
Also on SACD: Everything Is Everything
More by Donny Hathaway: “Donny Hathaway”
Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic
Musicians
Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.
| Name | Instrument / role |
|---|---|
| Donny Hathaway | Backing vocals, Lead vocals, Conductor, Piano, Organ, Bass |
| Phil Upchurch | Electric bass, Guitar |
| John Avant | Trombone |
| Johnny Board | Tenor saxophone |
| Lenard Druss | Tenor saxophone |
| Oscar Brashear | Trumpet |
| Aaron Dodd | Tuba |
| Morris Ellis | Trombone |
| Marshall Hawkins | Bass |
| Willie Henderson | Baritone saxophone |
| John Howell | Trumpet |
| Morris Jennings | Drums |
| John Lounsberry | French horn |
| Ethel Merker | French horn |
| Don Myrick | Alto saxophone |
| Ric Powell | Percussion, Drums |
| Louis Satterfield | Bass |
| The Vashonettes | Backing vocals |
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