“When the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars…” – in 1968 at the age of just 18 years old, Ronnie Dyson sang the words that captured a generation when, as an original cast member of the the Broadway musical “Hair,” he was picked to solo on “Aquarius,” the hippie anthem that opens and sets the tone for the whole show.
It generated Dyson’s dramatic original version of “Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely,” later a hit for The Main Ingredient, as well as the beautiful ballad “Give In To Love,” later covered by such artists as Dee Dee Bridgewater and Sister Sledge.
Listening to the two albums Jackson & Yancy produced for Dyson, you’ll note similarities between songs like “Close to You” and the hits that Natalie Cole had that same year.
Across all his records, Dyson proves to have almost Luther Vandross-like interpretive skills in covering great songs of the era, from stunning versions of “A Song For You,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Love Won’t Let Me Wait,” and Beatles standard “Something” – to more esoteric covers of Laura Nyro‘s “Emmie,” “Jesus Is Just Alright” (the Doobie Brothers song), and a soulful take on Hall & Oates “Sara Smile.”
Ultimately, after waning career fortunes, Dyson’s last major label release arrived in 1983 (though, ironically, this underperforming “Brand New Day“ LP did manage to yield a prominent club hit, “All Over Your Face,” that is by far Dyson’s most streamed Spotify song today).
