*Episode 13 of the Radioscope Raw podcast features our 1989 interview with Chuckii Booker, the instrumentalist, bandleader, music director, songwriter and producer who never wanted to be a singer.
The child musical prodigy and was signed to his godfather Barry White’s production company in 1984 at the age of 22. After a three-year stint playing keyboards for the R&B group Tease, he sent a demo tape to Atlantic records with material to showcase his talent as a producer. He forgot that Side B of the cassette contained his vocals on an original track. Atlantic was more interested in Side B, offered Booker a solo deal and, because of that, we were blessed with the timeless jam “Turned Away,” from his 1989 debut album “Chuckii.”
We sat down to talk about the album, the single (which was literally moments away from hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart ), his production work for Vanessa Williams, Gerald Albright and others, his cousin Karyn White and much more.
Listen below:
Below, Chuckii sings “Turned Away” while in quarantine (at the 9:15 mark), as part of DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic” series in Oct. 2020.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
