(August 26, 2025) “I Just Wanna Stop,” the soulful power ballad by Gino Vannelli, is a beloved song released in one of Soul music’s most fruitful years, 1979. The tune was all over radio. The lush and sweeping arrangement was matched by Vannelli’s rangy and passionate vocal.
Saxophonist Patrick Lamb had a close up view of Vannelli’s vocal prowess and the reaction that “I Just Wanna Stop” got from audience during the 17 years he served as the horn section leader for Vannelli’s band.
Lamb now leads his own band, and his latest single is a stirring version of “I Just Wanna Stop,” that features artist B.Slade on new vocals. B.Slade has been wowing audiences for more than three decades in gospel, jazz, pop, funk and R&B – both as artist and as a songwriter and producer who has worked with the likes Janet Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Sheila E. and Snoop Dogg, just to name a few.
Lamb’s selection of B.Slade as lead singer proves to be an inspired choice. B.Slade’s varied vocal background allows him to bring an element of soul, as well as gospel inspired range and power to the tune. Meanwhile producer Lamb has assembled an all-star cast of musicians that bring a fusion of sophisticated R&B with jazz infused instrumental creativity a track that pays homage to the original while also charting its own course. Check out Patrick Lamb’s loving rendition of the Gino Vannelli classic “I Just Wanna Be” featuring B.Slade on vocals here.
By Howard Dukes
