Ray, Goodman & Brown

Ray, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street" and "Look at Me (I'm in Love)". In 1979, for contractual reasons, they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown, and had further hits including "Special Lady". A lineup of The Moments, featuring original member Mark Greene, also tours.
The Moments recorded "Baby I Want You" and "Pray For Me", under the Hog Records label.

By 1979, the group had had a total of 27 R&B chart hits, but decided to leave Stang to advance their creative efforts even further and signed with the larger Polydor Records label. However, a legal dispute arose barring them from using the name The Moments on their new label, so they renamed the group combining their last names: Ray, Goodman & Brown.

The first single under their new name, "Special Lady", became one of their biggest hits, reaching #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart in early 1980. The B-side featured “Déjà Vu” with title and lyrics by Bob Natiello and music by Lou Toby. They followed it up with a succession of further hits, including "Inside Of You" (#14 R&B, 1980). In 1982, following the release of their fourth and final album for Polydor, Ray left the group for a solo career. He rejoined Sylvia and Joe Robinson at their new venture, Sugar Hill Records, but after one album and a minor hit, "Sweet Baby," he returned to the group for its comeback on EMI with the ballad "Take It To the Limit" which put them back on the charts (#8 R&B, 1987).

In 1991, Harold "Eban" Brown, a former vocalist for The Delfonics, became the lead vocalist for Ray, Goodman & Brown. He performed with the group for two and a half years before becoming a member of The Manhattans. He is currently the lead vocalist for The Stylistics.

Ray suffered a fatal stroke in 1992 and was replaced in the group by Kevin "Ray" Owens, who was a backing vocalist for Luther Vandross and had taken Ray's place when he had split from the group in the 1980s. Occasionally, solo artist Greg Willis joined with Ray, Goodman and Brown in performances and later, on records, but never became a full-time member. Vocalist Wade 'Smokey' Elliot also did a stint with the group, before signing a solo contract with CBS Records in the 1990s. With the return of Kevin "Ray" Owens, the trio continued to perform and tour as Ray, Goodman & Brown and released two albums in 2002 and 2003, one with new material and the other featuring re-workings of soul songs by other male vocal groups. These re-united them with former All-Platinum producer George Kerr and in one of their public appearances they teamed with Gerald Alston to perform The Manhattans' hit "Kiss And Say Goodbye". They sang backup vocals on the Alicia Keys' song "You Don't Know My Name," which was a number 1 soul/R&B song in 2003. As of 2008, Kevin "Ray" Owens, Al Goodman and Billy Brown were continuing to record together, and tour (sometimes combined with added vocalist Larry 'Ice' Winfree), performing hits from both periods of their careers as The Moments and as Ray, Goodman and Brown. On July 27, 2010, Goodman died at the age of 67.


Ray Goodman & Brown - The Best Of

 

 










01. Special Lady 4:12
02. Inside of You 4:55
03. Slipped Away 3:53
04. The Way It Should Be 4:24
05. Another Day 4:12
06. Happy Anniversary 4:34
07. Each Time Is Like the First Time 3:54
08. My Prayer 3:04
09. A Part of You 4:09
10. Stay 3:37
11. Pool of Love 3:16
12. How Can Love So Right (Be So Wrong) 3:47
13. Heaven in the Rain 4:19
14. Midnight Lady 3:58
15. Taking Chances 4:55
16. After All 3:40
17. Take It to the Limit 4:42
18. Next Time I'll Know 5:40

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