Debbie Malone - Good Life (1993)

Here we have another Debbie who, like Debbie Johnson, I was waiting on a family member to update me on before I posted the album. I found her niece on Youtube last year and she wrote me telling me she'd talk to her aunt and get back to me with details, but I have yet to hear back from her. What I have been able to piece together about Debbie Malone I got mostly from a recent obituary, unfortunately, for her husband and creative partner, Scipio Sargeant. He moved to the US from Trinidad in the late 1960s, having already established himself as a musician, songwriter and arranger. In 1977 he was commissioned to work with a young upcoming singer from Texas - Debbie. They bonded both professionally and romantically, and formed the soul/funk duo Sargeant & Malone, as well as the one-off group Elektrik Dred. After releasing a few singles and touring the US through the early 1980s, they moved to England in 1988 and began working on Debbie's solo career. They turned to house music and her first single, "Rescue Me," was an instant dance club hit in the UK, especially in the rave scene (look no further than Youtube to see how beloved this track is by ex-ravers). Debbie released a couple more less successful singles in the early 1990s and then "Rescue Me" was remixed and rereleased by dance label Pulse 8 Records in 1992, to more danceclub acclaim. The album was released in the US the next year on Radikal Records, with the only other single release from the album being "Running From My Love". The fact that I picked the CD up in a dollar store seems to indicate that it wasn't a smash success. ;) But it is a surprisingly solid house album, and Debbie has a fantastic voice. When last I heard from her niece, she told me that her aunt was working on a Myspace page and new music. Sadly that will likely be delayed by her husband's death, but it appears we will be hearing more from her some day.

UPDATE: It seem Ms. Malone may have left a comment here as follows:

"Well, I wouldn't knock dollar stores darling. Afterall, music should be accessible for ALL people. Business and music = NOISE!"

As I responded, I was happy to find the album in the dollar store, but most of the other albums I found there were obviously just overstock that the companies were burning off, so I just assumed... (and from your comment I'm guessing I assumed right?) No offense intended, and we would love to hear more about you and your career, Debbie, so please come back and fill us in!! This IS a tribute to you, after all! :)

Download Good Life

1		Never Knew Love Like This Before
2		I Wanna Know
3		Bye Bye Love
4		Baby Talk
5		No Other Love
6		Rescue Me (Uplifting Elephants Mix Edit)
7		Good Life
8		Soothe Me
9		Love Me Don't Leave Me
10		Running From My Love
11		Sunshine