In Love We Grow
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Label: MCA
Released: 1974
“In Love We Grow” features a 21 year old unknown singer by the name of Chaka Khan. The 1974 album Rags to Rufus featured the band’s first major hit “Tell Me Something Good”, but “In Love We Grow” featured Chaka in a way that very few recordings do: just her and the piano. This album and this ballad showcased her incredible depth and range as a singer and established her as a MAJOR new find for female singers in the industry. Chaka was clearly different, she didn’t grow up in “the church” and she idolized Sarah Vaughn. She approached pop funk music in a way that no one had before her.
—Jack McMorrow
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November 6th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Want to make a difference in a child’s life? Do the right thing and tell a youngster about DFD today…before it’s too late.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Damn fine. I have this lp but hadn’t paid attention to this track. Love the cover art - the band’s really in the pocket on this album (har har har).
November 6th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
great pipes Chaka! great to hear a piano ballad, but still love my “I Feel 4 U”!
November 6th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
like Rob, havn’t had thi vinyl out in many moons. will have to dust off the old turntable for this and the ASK RUFUS lp’s. thanks for helping me remember DFD.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
What a great tune. Now I have to go pull out my vinyl and see who wrote that. I hope I have this track on CD.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’d never heard this song before, but I thought it was great. And it sounded like something Stevie Wonder would have written around the same time. Thanks DFD.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
yes indeedy. What a set of pipes. Love this song, loved the album. I guess it’s time to dust it off and listen all the way through again. thanks, DFD. this was a really classy addition to our ever-surprising collection of forgotten songs.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
No doubt an incredible voice. Other than the vocal prowess, however, this one didn’t move me the way other Chaka Khan works have. While I appreciate what Rufus was trying to do here, let’s pull out the stops, kick out the jams, get more funkified and let the girl do her thang!
November 6th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
DFD, you have taken me back to the day I picked up this LP at a rummage sale, in my podunk little town in Illinois. I was probably 15 or 16, and of course I was buying it to have “Tell Me Something Good”, which had been a hit when I was around 10. I figured 50 cents was a bargain to have one of my favorite “oldies” in my collection…and then I played the whole LP and discovered I had gotten much more than my money’s worth, since this is one of the very best soul/funk/r & B/whatever-you-want-to-call-it albums ever recorded. This tune does indeed sound like something Stevie Wonder could have included on “Innervisions” or “Music Of My Mind”, but it was actually written by Rufus bass player Dennis Belfield (along with a couple of other songs, although Mr. Wonder did contribute “Tell Me Something Good”, of course). This LP runs the gamut from funk to gospel to Memphis soul to trippy P-funk-type sounds to–well, I’ll stop myself right there. If I don’t, I could go on and on about how great this album is. If you don’t have a copy, you need one ASAP!
November 6th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
God, I love this lady! Miss Chaka can sing for me any day and anytime, she just exudes warmth and passion in every word.
She is soul, and God bless her for it!
Thanks DFD, you made my day again
November 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Nice one, Mr. McMorrow! 100 points.
Thanks.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Absolutely fabulous, this takes me back. Thanks.
November 6th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
WOW!!! Thank you for this choice!! Chaka is always the best! But I really want to know if I can work with you when you pick these DFD songs of the day! Or could I come to visit and be that fly on the wall just to see how you choose the songs?? Please?? This Audiophile needs to know your secrets……
November 7th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I’m not a great fan of Chaka, but this is a good one
November 7th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Good track, but it SURE doesn’t do the album justice.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Releasing label ABC, BTW. (Not very Rhino with those mistakes…)
November 8th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
This was the album that began my now 35 year love affair with Yvette Marie Stevens. Thanks for sharing the gem that is “In Love We Grow” with the DFD community, Jack McM.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Great song! Never realized that she had such range.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
A gem
November 14th, 2009 at 7:21 am
My buddy bought this album when it came out because he liked “Tell Me Something Good”. We played the hell out of it when we were shooting pool or playing cards in his basement. Haven’t heard this song since the 70’s so it brings a lot of good memories back. Great tune. Thanks for the trip, DFD.