Alex Henderson

Alfie Silas         "Alfie"/"Be Yourself"

The history of R&B is not only about the superstars who soared to the top of the Billboard charts and sold millions of albums. It is also about all the talented artists who, for whatever reason, were never able to break through commercially—and Los Angeles native Alfie Silas is a prime example of the latter, at least where her own albums are concerned. The three albums that she recorded in the 1980s (two for RCA Records and one for Motown Records) fell through the cracks. But Silas has been incredibly successful as a session vocalist, appearing on countless albums in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, the long list of artists she has worked with reads like a who’s-who of R&B and Top 40: Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, the Commodores, Elton John, Philip Bailey, Julio Iglesias, Laura Branigan, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston, Sheena Easton, Aaron Neville and Quincy Jones are among the many well-known artists who have hired Silas to sing background on their recordings.

Born Alphanette Silas in L.A. on June 10, 1956, Silas was still a student at Los Angeles Community College when she first got into the music industry in the 1970s. Silas was a member of an L.A.-based gospel group called We, and the major secular artists she sang background for early in her career included, among others, Toto, Gino Vannelli and Martha Reeves (who performed as a solo artist after the breakup of Martha & the Vandellas, one of the top female vocal groups of the 1960s). In the early 1980s, Silas signed with RCA as a solo artist and recorded the two albums heard back to back on this reissue: 1982’s Alfie (her debut album) and 1983’s Be Yourself.  

Alfie draws on a variety of early 1980s influences, ranging from Deniece Williams to Chic to Solar Records (which enjoyed considerable success in the 1980s with a roster that included Shalamar, the Whispers, Lakeside, Midnight Star, Carrie Lucas and Dynasty). Williams’ influence is evident whenever Silas hits the high notes, which she has no problem doing on exuberant funk/dance grooves such as “A Puppet to You,” “You’re a Star” (not to be confused with the single that the soul/funk band Aquarian Dream recorded in 1978), “Communicate,” “Put the Freeze On” and “Body Heat.” Williams’ influence also asserts itself on the R&B/adult contemporary ballad “There I Go.”

In the late 1970s, Williams was known for her association with Earth, Wind & Fire. Maurice White, EWF’s leader/founder, played a vital role in the start of her solo career and co-produced her first two albums: 1976’s This Is Niecy and 1977’s Song Bird. So when Silas makes some EWF-ish moves on the medium-tempo “Can’t We Do It Again,” Williams’ relationship with EWF immediately comes to mind.

Alfie didn’t contain any mega-hits, but “There I Go” was released as a single and reached #28 on Billboard’s R&B singles chart. “A Puppet to You” was also released as a single and made it to the seventies on that chart.

Stylistically, the Larry Graham-produced Be Yourself picked up where Alfie left off and was not a major departure from its predecessor. Graham, of course, was a huge soul/funk star in his heyday—first as a member of Sly & the Family Stone, then with his band Graham Central Station, then as a solo artist. And he serves Silas well on Be Yourself.

Like Alfie, Be Yourself is full of infectious funk/dance offerings (which include “Just a Little Bit,” “I’m Available” and single “You Put the L in Love”) but also contains some ballads: the title track and “Never Thought I’d Fall in Love Again.” Meanwhile, the sleek “Stay with Me” is a relaxed mid-tempo selection with a strong quiet storm appeal.

“Never Thought I’d Fall in Love Again” and Be Yourself’s title track are two very different ballads. While “Never Thought I’d Fall in Love Again” is a sentimental love song with both R&B and adult contemporary elements, the title track is an autobiographical song that describes the encouragement Silas’ mother gave her when she was growing up.

In addition to reissuing Alfie and Be Yourself in their entirety, this generous CD contains five bonus tracks. Three versions of “A Puppet to You” (the single version and two instrumental versions) are followed by two versions of “You Put the L in Love” (the 12” single version and an abridged single version).

In 1985, Silas resurfaced on Motown Records with her third album, That Look, which wasn’t the commercial breakthrough she was hoping for but contained the minor hit “Just Gets Better with Time” (which Michael Durio, Silas’ husband, wrote with the famous producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield). And the fact that Silas’ solo career didn’t work out at either RCA or Motown certainly didn’t prevent her from prospering as a session vocalist. Silas kept busy in the late 1980s and 1990s, singing background on albums by Little Richard, Barbra Streisand, George Benson, Robbie Nevil, Brenda K. Starr, Dionne Warwick, Steve Lukather, Brandy, Christina Aguilera, Phil Perry and Italian pop star Eros Ramazzotti (who has been described as the Julio Iglesias of Italy). In 1987, Silas appeared on one of the best-selling albums of all time: Michael Jackson’s Bad.

Silas recorded a Christmas album, It’s Christmas, in 2003 under her married name, Alfie Silas Durio. These days, Silas (whose 57^th birthday ison June 10, 2013) is concentrating on gospel and is quite active in the Christian music world. Angels, Silas’ first gospel album as a solo artist, was released in 2008. During a 2008 appearance on the television program “Gospel Vibes,” Silas told the host, Fitz Houston, that while she hadn’t necessarily given up secular music altogether, gospel had become her top priority.

Silas’ fans continue to lament the fact that she never achieved the success as a solo artist that she did as a background singer. But as this Alfie/Be Yourself reissue demonstrates, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of talent.  

—Alex Henderson, May 2013

Alex Henderson’s work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, AlterNet, Cash Box, HITS, CD Review, Skin Two, Black Beat, The Pasadena Weekly, Black Radio Exclusive (BRE), Music Connection, Latin Style, The New York City Jazz Record and many other well known publications. Henderson (alexvhenderson.com) has also contributed several thousand CD reviews to The All Music Guide’s popular website and series of music reference books.