(September 15, 2016) Robert Brookins may not be a household name, but as a songwriter and producer, he worked with R&B royalty, including Philip Bailey, The Whispers, Bobby Brown, Jeffery Osborne, Prince, and many, many more. Sadly, Brookins died in 2009, leaving a strong musical legacy.
And “Legacy” was what his musical friends were thinking of when they decided to work on an album to pay tribute to Brookins. Great artists such as Michael Cooper of Con Funk Shun, Joe Leavy, and Club Nouveau contributed, working with Grammy winning producer musician/writer, Derek (DOA) Allen.
Included among the contributors was a new artist to SoulTracks, the talented singer, Rashaad Carlton, who performs the ballad, “I Thank Heaven.” He tells us: “Recording this song was such an honor for me. The first time super producer Derek ‘DOA’ Allen sent me the song, I fell in love with it because it was so beautiful. The song was written by the legendary Quincy Jones for the late great Michael Jackson. Michael never recorded it, but the late great Robert Brookins demoed the song and ended up including it on AfterBach’s ‘Matinee’ album in 1981. I am the first and only artist in over 30 years to rerecord this song featured on the Robert Brookins ‘Legacy’ album. It’s just a really special song.”
Take a listen below to a great song with a special meaning.
Rashaad Carlton – “I Thank Heaven”
