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Chi-Lites Singer Eugene Record Dead At 64
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Monday, 25 July 2005
 Eugene Record, tenor-voiced lead singer of the Chi-Lites responsible for sweet soul ballads like "Have You Seen Her?" and "Oh Girl," died on Friday. He was 64.
According to the group's booking agency, Record died of cancer. The place of death was not disclosed.
Named after the group's hometown of Chicago, the Chi-Lites wove unique, often melancholy soul classics of love often gone wrong.
"Oh Girl" was a No. 1 hit in 1972, and 11 of the group's songs reached the Top 20 on the R&B charts from 1969 to 1974. Record wrote or co-wrote many of the group's most popular songs and frequently sang the lead as well.
In 1990, MC Hammer recorded a popular version of "Have You Seen Her?" and in 2003 Beyoncé Knowles' "Crazy in Love," a blockbuster hit, sampled the horn fanfare in "Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)," a Chi-Lites song written by Record.
When "Crazy in Love" won a Grammy Award for best R&B song, the prize was shared by Record; Knowles; her producer, Rich Harrison; and guest rapper Jay-Z.
The Chi-Lites started in the late-50's doo-wop era when Record formed the Chanteurs with Robert Lester and Clarence Johnson, and released a single in 1959. The next year Creadel Jones and Marshall Thompson joined them, and the group became the Hi-Lites, changing its name to the Chi-Lites in 1964.
The group signed with the Brunswick label in 1968, and began to taste success that year with the song "Give It Away," which reached No. 10 on the R&B charts. But it was a string of hits in the early 70's that established the group's reputation.
Mr. Record left the group in 1976 and released three solo albums on Warner Brothers. He rejoined the Chi-Lites in 1980, and the group had two more minor hits on Mr. Record's label, Chi-Sound, "Hot on a Thing (Called Love)" and "Bottom's Up." The group has continued in various permutations since the mid-1980's, and Mr. Record performed with it in "Only the Strong Survive," a 2002 documentary of 1960's and 70's soul stars that was directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker.
Record is survived by his wife, Jackie.
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| Last Updated (
Monday, 25 July 2005 ) |
