Stay With Johnny Daye!

Johnny Daye - Stay Baby Stay

Within the course of the past week I received two very interesting emails in connection with blue-eyed soul legend Johnny Daye. The first came from Bonedog Records, whose CD by Robert Peckman, Stirrin' Up Bees, includes the song "Let's Talk It Over," featuring Johnny on the vocals for his first release in over 30 years. Johnny's still sounding great and you can hear a sample of the song on the site. Yesterday, Daye himself emailed me, having found the blog when searching online for info about the Peckman CD. I was pleasantly surprised to see kind words from him about the blog and the entry I did some time ago about him. He noted that "Stay Baby Stay," his final 45, was his favorite recording and agreed that it is an exquisite ballad.

After reading his email I went back and realized that I was very negligent in not fulfilling my promise in that earlier post to feature "Stay Baby Stay" at a later time, so today I make up for it. How much can I gush about the song's outstanding arrangement? The strings are nothing short of fabulous, the backup singers provide great support and Daye brings a smoldering energy to his vocals. There's no whooping or hollering here, just soul to the nth degree in this meditative recording. Dig the slight modulation near the end. It really works. Viva Johnny Daye!

(PS: Yoni Neeman's Soul of the Web site has a page featuring Daye's discography and has some audio clips of several recordings. Check them out!)