Listen: Street Life / The Crusaders CrusadersStreet.mp3

I can admit it, I never payed a blink of attention to Randy Crawford, although I did love her name. Her Warner Brothers album sleeves left me believing she was safe RnB sludge. Plus I had tunnel vision back then for all things punk.

Along comes her feature on The Crusaders’ ‘Street Life’ single, which was a record I worked as the local MCA radio promo guy back in ’79.

Wow. I loved this and since then, have loved her too (despite some questionable picture sleeves). ‘Street Life’ probably would have been more respected if it hadn’t become a hit – but it did. And deserved to as well. Sometimes there is justice.

To this day. ‘Street Life’ is considered a rare groove classic, one of those UK soul affectionado terms that I admittedly am not sure the meaning of. Fact is, Randy Crawford has a terrific voice, one that’s very much appreciated in the UK and Europe, but sadly not here in the US. Despite ‘Street Life’ peaking at #17 Stateside, and #5 in the UK, she has never had a Billboard chart entry on her own. Given my leaning toward all things British, I guess my passion for her makes sense.