Soul Junction New Release: Shirley & Jesse You Know Who You Are Sleeping With

Press Release:  Shirley Diamond & Jesse James “You Don’t Know Who You Sleeping With” SJ1021

Release Date:  Monday February 26th 2024

Diamond & James are none other than our old friend, the evergreen Jesse James in tandem with Southern soulstress Shirley Diamond.  Jesse has known and worked with Shirley for some time following their introduction by Shirley’s former manager/producer the late Harvey Scales. Shirley a native of Atlanta, Georgia and is not only a performing artist and occasional Congo drummer but a trained educator who has taught first to fifth grade students in the past. She is currently working as a E.I.P also known as an Education Support Teacher working with students who are experiencing learning difficulties.

Shirley has successfully managed her performing career around her academic career performing at weekends and school summer holidays which in the state of Georgia typically last from late May into the middle of August. Shirley’s career has either seen her open shows or work as a backing singer for some of black music’s greatest artists, Atlantic Starr, The Bar Kay’s, Bobby Bland, Tyrone Davis, Millie Jackson, Ann Nesby, Joe Simon, Johnnie Taylor (with whom she toured with for 7 months) as well as the aforementioned Jesse James amongst many others. 

Shirley’s previous recordings include the CD album project ‘Shirley Diamond With Magic Mushroom’ entitled “You Don’t Have To Be Sad, To Sing The Blues” which included credible cover versions of Tyrone Davis’s “Homewrecker” and Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” plus the heavily radio played “See And Don’t See”.  The 2016 “Strong Woman” album on Phat Sak Records was followed by the Harvey Scales penned song “Are You Setting Me Up” in 2013 released as a download only. In 2021 Shirley recorded a song that she co-wrote with Terry Dukes “You Don’t Know Who You Sleeping With” which she has recently re-recorded as a duet with Jesse under the production supervision of Con Funk Shun main man Felton Pilate with additional instrumentation added to the arrangements.

Both versions of this song have been united as a double A sided release by Soul Junction, with this being Shirley’s first ever vinyl release.

A further Shirley & Jesse duet entitled “Another Love Lay Over” will soon be featured as part of a future Jesse James project, watch this space.

For further information contact Soul Junction: E-mail: sales@souljunctionrecords.co.uk

To pre-order/buy visit https://souljunctionrecords.co.uk/SJ1021.html

Listen: Sample #2