Biography

b. Veronica Crawford, 18 February 1952, Macon, Georgia, USA. Raised in Cincinnati, from the age of 15 Crawford was a regular performer at the city's nightclubs. She later moved to New York and began singing with several jazz musicians including George Benson and Cannonball Adderley. Crawford was subsequently signed to Warner Brothers Records as a solo act, but achieved fame as the (uncredited) voice on "Street Life", a major hit single for the Crusaders in 1979. Crawford toured extensively with the group, whose pianist, Joe Sample, provided her with "Now We May Begin", a beautiful ballad that established the singer's independent career. Crawford enjoyed further successes with "One Day I'll Fly Away" (UK number 2), "You Might Need Somebody", "Rainy Night In Georgia" (both UK Top 20 hits) and her 1981 album Secret Combination, considered by many to be her finest, reached number 2 in the UK. After a five-year respite, she made a return to the top flight of the chart in 1986 with "Almaz", which reached the Top 5. Curiously, this soulful, passionate singer has found greater success in the UK than in her homeland, and the 1989 album Rich And Poor was recorded in London. By the new millennium, Crawford was fronting the gospel group the Kingsmen.
DISCOGRAPHY: Miss Randy Crawford (Warners 1977)***, Raw Silk (Warners 1979)****, Now We May Begin (Warners 1980)***, Everything Must Change (Warners 1980)**, Secret Combination (Warners 1981)****, Windsong (Warners 1982)**, Nightline (Warners 1983)***, Abstract Emotions (Warners 1986)***, Rich And Poor (Warners 1989)***, Naked And True (Bluemoon 1995)****, Every Kind Of Mood: Randy, Randi, Randee (Atlantic 1998)***, Permanent (Warners 2001)****.
COMPILATIONS: Miss Randy Crawford - Greatest Hits (K-Tel 1984)***, Love Songs (Telstar 1987)***, The Very Best Of (Dino 1992)***, The Best Of (Warners 1996)****.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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