Brenda Russell

Brenda Gordon, professionally known as Brenda Russell, was born on April 8, 1949, in New York City. Her early life was influenced by both parents being musicians; her mother as a singer/songwriter and her father, Gus Gordon, a former member of The Ink Spots. She moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at age 12, where she began performing in local bands. As a teenager, she joined The Tiaras, a Toronto-based girl group, releasing their only single, “Where Does All The Time Go,” in 1968. In her late teens, she participated in the Toronto production of ‘Hair’, marking a period when she also started playing the piano. In the early 1970s, she married musician Brian Russell, and together they were part of the band Dr. Music. The couple later contributed to Rufus’s “Please Pardon Me” (1974) and provided backing vocals for Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter in the Rain” (1974). They also performed backing vocals for Elton John’s 1975 Wembley Stadium concert and released two albums as Brian & Brenda: ‘Word Called Love’ (1976) and ‘Supersonic Lover’ (1977) on Elton John’s Rocket label. After divorcing and relocating to Los Angeles, Russell embarked on a solo career.

In 1979, Russell released her self-titled debut album on A&M Records, which reached number 20 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album featured the track “So Good So Right,” which charted on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs (number 8), Hot Soul Songs (number 15), and Hot 100 (number 30) charts. The 1980s saw Russell’s continued songwriting contributions, including co-writing two tracks for Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1980 album ‘Faces,’ notably the hit single “You,” and “I’ve Had Enough” from their 1981 album ‘Raise!’. She also performed backing vocals on Donna Summer’s 1982 hit single “State of Independence,” alongside artists like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. Her fourth album, ‘Get Here’ (1988), became a significant commercial success, featuring her biggest hit, “Piano in the Dark,” a US Top 10 and UK Top 30 hit. This song earned her three Grammy Award nominations. The album’s title track, “Get Here,” later became a transatlantic hit for Oleta Adams in 1991. Russell released ‘Kiss Me with the Wind’ in 1990, which included her rendition of “Dinner With Gershwin,” a song she previously wrote for Donna Summer. Throughout the 1990s, she collaborated on various projects, including Joni Mitchell’s ‘Night Ride Home’ (1991) and the Yellowjackets’ ‘Live Wires’ (1992), and co-wrote and produced “Let Somebody Know” for Diana Ross’s 1995 album ‘Take Me Higher.’

The 2000s marked a new phase with the release of ‘Paris Rain’ (2000) on Hidden Beach Records, featuring collaborations with Carole King and Sheila E., shifting towards an adult-oriented sound. A major milestone occurred in 2005 when the musical version of Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’ opened on Broadway. Russell co-wrote the show’s score with Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, earning them a Tony Award nomination for Best Score and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Show Album. In 2016, Russell received a Grammy Award in the Best Musical Theater Album category for ‘The Color Purple’, an acknowledgment of her continued impact in the music and theater industries. Her song “Piano in the Dark” experienced renewed attention when a sample was used in Flo Rida’s 2012 dance club hit “I Cry.”