 • After his US R&B success with “Reach For It” (1977) and “Dukey Stick” (1978), DREAM ON was jazz’n’funk pioneer George Duke’s eighth album for Epic Records.
• Released in 1982, DREAM ON was one of George’s best selling albums for Epic, a US Top 20 R&B, Top 10 Jazz and Top 100 pop charted album. The single, “Shine On” was also George’s fourth biggest R&B-charted single, a success on the dance music charts and George’s second highest pop chart entry during his Epic years.
• The master keyboardist was the primary writer on most of the album’s ten tracks with the exception of the title tune, co-penned by Felton Pilate of Con-Funk-Shun fame.
• DREAM ON’s line-up includes Ndugu Chancler on drums, Byron Miller on bass and Michael Sembello on guitar. Renowned vocalists Jean Carn and Flora Purim are also featured on “Son Of Reach For It (Funky Dream),” a continuation of George’s 1978 classic “Reach For It.” Key cuts on DREAM ON include the funky “Ride On Love,” another US R&B charted single and a remake of “Someday,” which George had recorded in 1975.
• DREAM ON is one of four George Duke classic jazz/funk albums being reissued by SoulMusic.com Records in 2011. This expanded edition includes US single edits of “Shine On” and “Ride On Love.”
• Notes by former Blues & Soul writer Jeff Lorez include 2011 quotes from George.
About the Writer
David Nathan is the founder and CEO of SoulMusic.com and began his writing career in 1965; beginning in 1967, he was a regular contributor to Blues & Soul magazine in London before relocating to the U.S. in 1975 where he served as U.S. editor for the publication for several decades and began being known as 'The British Ambassador Of Soul.' From 1988 to 2004, he wrote prolifically for Billboard, has penned bios, produced and written liner notes for box sets and reissue CDs for over a thousand projects. He returned to London in 2009 where he has helped create SoulMusic.com Records as a leading reissue label.
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