Change was an Italian-American group formed in Bologna, Italy 1979 by the creative genius of businessman and executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus (1949-1986) and Mauro Malavasi (1958-). They were heavily influenced by legendary disco band Chic.
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Career
The band's debut album, The Glow Of Love, was released in 1980 and featured the million seller A Lover's Holiday. The follow up hits, Searching and the title song feature lead vocals by the then unknown Luther Vandross. The three songs combined spent 9 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Disco charts, enough to make it the #1 Disco album of the year and a million seller in the U.S. The success of Searching and The Glow Of Love exposed Luthers voice to mainstream and eventually led to a successful solo career starting in 1981. The follow-up album, Miracles, featured the hits Paradise, Hold Tight, and Heaven Of My Life which, combined, spent 6 weeks at the number one spot in 1981 on Billboard's Disco chart. Due to contractual differences Luther refused to sing lead on any of the album's tracks and was only featured on backing vocals on selected songs. By now, James Robinson and Diva Gray had replaced Vandross. After Miracles Luther left Change to pursuit his solo career in 1981. Following the departure of Vandross in 1981, Petrus and Malavasi sort out a similar sounding vocalist. They didn't have to look far when they discovered that back-up singer James Robinson had a similar vocals style as Luther. Change's third album, Sharing Your Love, featured the R&B-ish The Very Best In You. The single was a departure from the group's usual disco sound. The groups fourth album, This Is Your Time, failed to chart a major hit and afterwards lead singer James Robinson left to pursuit a solo career. Producers David Romani and Mauro Malavasi also left to do other projects. With the future of Change in jeopardy Petrus hired the help of up and rising producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The result led to the group having their first top ten R&B hit in three years with the title song, Change Of Heart in 1984. The following year the band released their final album, Turn On Your Radio, which featured the minor hit Let's Go Together. By this time, vocalist Diva Gray was out and Deborah Cooper was recruited as the primary female lead vocalist. Change was dissolved in 1986 after the death of Petrus that year. In 2001 American R&B/pop singer Janet Jackson featured a sample of Change's The Glow Of Love in her number 1 single "All for You".
Discography
Albums
- 1980: The Glow Of Love (Warner Bros.) - US #29, R&B #10
- 1981: Miracles (Atlantic) - US #46, R&B #9
- 1982: Sharing Your Love (London) - US #66, R&B #14
- 1983: This Is Your Time (Atlantic) - US #161, R&B #34
- 1984: Change Of Heart (Atlantic) - US #102
- 1985: Turn On Your Radio (Atlantic) - R&B #64
- 1998: The Very Best of Change (Rhino)
Singles
- 1980: "A Lover's Holiday" - US #40, R&B #5
- 1980: "Searching" - R&B #22
- 1980: "The Glow Of Love" - R&B #49
- 1981: "Paradise" - US #80, R&B #7
- 1981: "Hold Tight" - US #89, R&B #40
- 1982: "The Very Best In You" - US #84, R&B #16
- 1982: "Hard Times (It's Gonna Be Alright)" - R&B #71
- 1983: "This Is Your Time" - R&B #33
- 1983: "Don't Wait Another Night" - R&B #89
- 1984: "Change Of Heart" - R&B #7
- 1984: "It Burns Me Up" - R&B #61
- 1985: "Let's Go Together" - R&B #56
