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Claudine – The Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack
On June 17, Shout! Factory will reissue
the soundtracks to the original motion pictures Claudine
and Pipe Dreams on one disc, celebrating both the
films and the work of Gladys Knight & The Pips
and Curtis Mayfield.
Written and produced by Curtis Mayfield, Claudine,
the soundtrack to the original motion picture of the
same name, was originally released in 1974 on Buddah
Records. Gladys Knight & The Pips had signed to
the Buddah label in 1973 after some unsatisfying years
at Motown, and had a gold record with Imagination,
which boasted three hits including “Midnight Train
To Georgia,” “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me”
and “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination.”
Claudine the movie and music score were purposeful
artistic missions, with the 1974 film providing a
heartwarming antidote to all of the “blaxploitation”
flicks of the era. Starring veteran actress Diahann
Carroll, who received an Oscar® nomination for
her role in the film, Claudine is the story of a struggling
single mother of six in Harlem who falls in love with
a charming garbage man named “Roop,” portrayed by
the legendary James Earl Jones.
The songs on the soundtrack and Gladys’ unique voice
made it the perfect instrument to express Claudine’s
inner story. The Claudine soundtrack bore two #2 Hot
Soul Singles, “On And On,” and the film’s triumphant
ending song “Make Yours A Happy Home,” which wasn’t
actually released as a single until two years later.
“Mr. Welfare Man” reflected Claudine’s frustration
with being forced to “cheat” the welfare system. “Hold
On” is a wee-hours woman’s blues, revealing Claudine’s
inner struggle over clinging to a man she feels is
predestined to stray . Meanwhile, the instrumental
“Claudine Theme” of flutes, strings, beats and brass
is the soundtrack to her daily grind. On “To Be Invisible,”
Mayfield’s brilliant account of author Ralph Ellison’s
depiction of the Black man as a victim in America,
Gladys sings a musing on what the future holds for
Black boys. “The Makings Of You,” a beautiful and
timeless meditation on love and family that Curtis
first recorded on his 1970 debut solo LP, Curtis,
but that Gladys renders here in equally spellbinding
fashion.
Two years later Gladys starred in the film Pipe Dreams
with her real-life husband at the time, Barry Hankerson.
Pipe Dreams, a love story that took place in Alaska,
had a soundtrack that showcased a variety of musical
styles for Gladys Knight & The Pips. The one single
from the album was the tear-jerking theme and Top
20 Hot Soul hit “So Sad The Song,” written by Gerry
Goffin and Michael Masser. Other songs on the Pipe
Dreams soundtrack include “Alaskan Pipeline,” written
by rhythm and blues vet Ivory Jo Hunter, the scat
swing vocal of the piano-punctuated “Pot Of Jazz,”
penned by Pip Merald “Bubba” Knight, the inspiring
numbers “I’ll Miss You” and “Follow My Dreams” by
the Reverend James Cleveland. Also included are “Nobody
But You,” which was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia
Weil, and on which then-current hits “Lean On Me,”
“You’ve Got A Friend” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
are referenced, and “Pipe Dream,” the main title theme
written by Gladys and The Pips producer Tony Camillo,
who’d just cowritten their hit “I Feel A Song (In
My Heart).”
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company
devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing
the very best of pop culture – The Stuff You Grew
Up On But Never Outgrew. Founders Richard Foos, Bob
Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing
their music, television and film faves with discerning
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serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series,
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documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras.
The company’s audio catalogue boasts Grammy®-nominated
boxed sets, new releases from storied artists and
lovingly assembled album reissues. These riches are
the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that
has established the company as a hotbed of cultural
preservation and commercial reinvention. For more
on Shout! Factory, visit www.shoutfactory.com.
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