New Release - 24 Hours A Day

[Phild]

Artist - LJ Johnson & Barbara Pennington
Title - 24 Hours A Day
Label - Soul Purpose
Catalogue # - SPR 2002
Format - 7 inch single

Release date - July 4th 2021

Retail Price - £12.00

Incredibly it’s 45 years since this timeless 45 first surfaced!
But it’s only now that it’s become a dazzling duet.

Infamous UK record producer and songwriter Ian Levine cut his chops in 1976 linking up with Chicago studio wizards Paul Wilson and Danny Leake and cutting stunning Northern Soul records with Windy City vocalists Barbara Pennington, LJ Johnson and Evelyn Thomas.

The singles caused a sensation by giving the, then young, upstart producer his debut hits in the UK pop charts.

Enthused by this success, Ian got back together with producer and songwriter Leake (who later worked with Stevie Wonder), and arranger Wilson (he went on to link up with Jerry Butler) and the trio masterminded a truly epic gem aimed at the booming USA Disco scene - Barbara Pennington’s 24 Hours A Day.

The incredible production. opus - complete with a stunning lead vocal, incredible scurrying strings, a song that sounded like it was the equivalent of Ashford & Simpson on steroids -became me a massive disco anthem when released on the United Artists label. And quickly became a timeless Northern Soul classic

It was loved so much on both sides of the Atlantic that Ian used the same backing track some time later to record a male vocal version for AVI by LJ Johnson. Compared to the all conquering Barbara Pennington gem it went under the radar of everyone except those in the know, despite being rather good in its own right.

Now after tracking down the original 24 track studio masters, the two versions have been remixed by Paul Mooney to create a unique boy-girl duet.

It sounds like it should have been done in the first place, even better than the original versions.

 

Click here to buy - https://py.pl/29g6Gd

 

 

Pennington & Johnson - Twenty Four Hours A Day (Vocal)__ 3.26 -1.0 dB ST master (1).mp3