Eugene Record

Eugene Booker Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) was an American Grammy-Winning singer, songwriter and arranger, and record producer. Mr. Record had international hits with: "Oh Girl," "Have You Seen Her," "Soulful Strut," and "For God’s Sake We’ve Got to Get More Power to the People. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Chicago-based vocal group The Chi-Lites during the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s. He also wrote and produced many of the group's hits in the 1970s on Brunswick Records, as well as writing and producing for other acts. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, to Booker and Bernice Record, Record was drawn to music through his older sister's involvement as a pianist. He learned to play the guitar and formed his first group while at high school with Robert Lester, who stayed on when they joined up with two members of another local group to form The Hi-Lites and eventually changing the name to The Chi-Lites. After a few unsuccessful singles, the group was signed by Brunswick Records production chief in Chicago, Carl Davies. Record wrote or co-wrote (often with singer Barbara Acklin) a long series of hits for the group, including million-sellers "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl", as well as major hits, such as "Homely Girl" and "Give More Power To The People". He also wrote and produced for other artists, mostly on Brunswick, including Acklin, Jackie Wilson, The Lost Generation, Otis Leavill, and later, The Dells and The Impressions. When Brunswick began to falter due to legal and financial issues in the mid-1970s, Record decided to go solo and released three albums (entitled The Eugene Record, Trying to Get to You, and Welcome to My Fantasy) in the late 1970s on Warner Music Group without major success, before re-joining The Chi-Lites in 1980. As well as returning to sing with the group, he teamed up again with Carl Davis, formerly his mentor at Brunswick, to produce and take on executive duties for Davis' Chi-Sound Records label. Record stayed with The Chi-Lites until the mid-1980s for several albums on various labels before leaving again. Becoming a born-again Christian, he produced a gospel album on his own Evergreen label. He also continued to make occasional guest appearances with the group. In 1978, he appeared on Saturday Night Live with Michael Palin. He performed "Have You Seen Her" and "Trying to Get to You".