Patti Dahlstrom
Encyclopedia
Patti Dahlstrom is a widely respected singer/songwriter, recording artist and teacher. Born in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, she cut four albums in the seventies, and co-wrote the Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...

 hit "Emotion"
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....

, before enjoying a renaissance and renewed visibility in 2010.

Early life

Dahlstrom was one of five children born in Houston. Her aspirations to become a singer were evident from an early age. Having started to make up songs in her pre-teens, she was writing frequently by the time of her adolescence, and was given to examining record sleeves for the songwriting credits while burnishing dreams of seeing her own name in such a setting. In 1967, she left Texas to pursue a career in music in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

Recording Artist and songwriter

After three years of struggling, Dahlstrom broke into the world of professional songwriting. She was signed to Jobete, the publishing division of Motown, where she was mentored by Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

. She also struck up a fruitful and enduring songwriting relationship with Severin Browne, brother of Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....

.
Russ Regan
Russ Regan
Russ Regan is a long-time record executive who was President of both UNI Records, and 20th Century Records. Regan also worked at Motown among other companies. He started with Berry Gordy at Motown and promoted many artists including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson...

 signed her to Uni Records
Uni Records
Uni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinct UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan...

 and, in 1972, her first album, the Toxey French-produced Patti Dahlstrom, was released. Moving to 20th Century Records
20th Century Records
20th Century Fox Records, also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, was a subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox.-History:It began in 1958 as 20th Fox Records. In 1963, 20th Fox Records became 20th Century-Fox Records...

, which was also headed by Regan, she followed with three more albums, The Way I Am (1973), Your Place or Mine (1975), and Livin It Thru (1976), produced by Michael J Jackson and Michael Omartian
Michael Omartian
Michael Omartian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, keyboardist, and music producer. He has been a participant in over 350,000,000 albums and CD’s sold worldwide, as a producer, arranger, artist or musician, during a career that has spanned over 38 years...

, Jack Conrad and Bill Schnee, and Larry Knetchel respectively. The albums featured an impressive cast of musicians and prominently displayed Dahlstrom's gritty, engaging vocal style and her emotionally perspicacious songwriting.

Among the notable songs from Dahlstrom's 20th Century tenure was 'Sending My Good Thoughts To You', which she co-wrote with Artie Wayne
Artie Wayne
Artie Wayne is an American, semi-retired record producer, award winning songwriter, and active blogger.Artie Wayne has pursued an eclectic array of vocations and avocations, including songwriter, singer, producer, publisher, concert promoter, restaurant host, and wearable artist...

, and dedicated to her friend Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...

. Implicit in the song's lyric is the notion of continuing a loving friendship with someone after that person's death, and this consoling message has helped it endure. In one of her most plaintive and subtly heart-rending vocal performances to date, Dahlstrom included the song on Your Place or Mine in 1975.

Despite the fact that there was no break out hit single for Dahlstrom herself, her popularity as a songwriter for other recording artists was considerable. Notable among the recordings of her work are "Ain't No Way To Rise Above (Fallin' In Love)" by Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....

 (1982); "Running Out of World" by Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...

 (1976); "Emotion" by Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...

 and Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

; "What If", "I'm Letting Go", and "I Never Did" by Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1976 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.-Early life & career:Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother...

 (1972); "Dialogue" by Michael Johnson (1979); "Feels Like More Than Dancing" by Captain and Tennille; "Over The Line" by Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...

 (1973); and "Even Texas Isn't Big Enough Now" by Riders in the Sky (1986) from the album New Trails
New Trails
New Trails is a studio recording by the Western band Riders in the Sky, released in 1986. It is available as a single CD.Following their Live album in 1986, the trio returned to the studio, presenting several traditional Western songs, as well as some of their own creations.-Track listing:#...

.

Emotion

Dahlstrom's second album, The Way I Am, included "Emotion"
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....

, a song that had arisen when Artie Wayne
Artie Wayne
Artie Wayne is an American, semi-retired record producer, award winning songwriter, and active blogger.Artie Wayne has pursued an eclectic array of vocations and avocations, including songwriter, singer, producer, publisher, concert promoter, restaurant host, and wearable artist...

, Warner Brothers Publishing's General Manager, brought a copy of a Véronique Sanson
Véronique Sanson
Véronique Sanson is a two-time Victoires de la Musique Award-winning French singer-songwriter, musician, and producer with an avid following in her native country.She brings a very personal vocal style to the singing of French pop songs: Her voice has a very strong vibrato.Unlike...

 album to Patti, with a view to her providing English lyrics. Dahlstrom was taken by the song "Amoureuse
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....

", and set it to her own words to form "Emotion"
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....

. Confusingly, there was another contemporaneous English version of the song, with translated lyrics by Gary Osborne
Gary Osborne
Gary Osborne is an English singer and songwriter from the United Kingdom.-Career:Osborne was born in London, educated in Switzerland, and followed his father into the music industry at the age of fifteen....

, which retained the title 'Amoureuse'. However, it was Dahlstrom's version, recorded by Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy
Helen Reddy , often referred to as "The Queen of 70s Pop", is an Australian-American singer and actress. In the 1970s, she enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Six of those 15 songs made the Top 10...

, that became a US #22 and US AC #1 hit in 1974.
In 2009, Véronique Sanson declared in an interview to the french magazine Platine that Dahlstrom's version remains her favorite version of Amoureuse
Amoureuse
"Amoureuse" is the title of a French language composition by Véronique Sanson introduced on her 1972 album of the same name.; rendered in English the song became a hit single for Kiki Dee and - as "Emotion" - for Helen Reddy....

.

Later career

In the seventies, Dahlstrom's recording career came to an end when she declined the opportunity to make a fifth album, and was, by her own request, released from her contract. She cited exhaustion among the reasons for the decision. Years later, Russ Regan publicly disclosed his surprise and confusion that Dahlstrom's albums had not been high profile successes, saying, "In my career there are two female singer/songwriters who I signed, that should've been stars, Patti Dahlstrom and Harriet Schock
Harriet Schock
Harriet Schock is an American singer, songwriter, teacher, author, and actress. She made three albums for a major label in the 70s, scoring gold and platinum awards for her Grammy-nominated Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady, before moving into teaching and soundtrack work, and then resuming an ongoing...

".
She continued to pursue songwriting through the seventies and eighties, as well as branching out into photography. Photographic assignments included working on set with Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...

 and shooting an album cover and 1978 tour book for John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...

.
Returning to Texas in 1990, Dahlstrom taught songwriting at The Art Institute of Houston
The Art Institute of Houston
The Art Institute of Houston – is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 50 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts....

 before swiftly being made Department Director. In addition to teaching, she pursued studies of her own, including a degree in Liberal Arts.
Following a birthday trip to England in 2007, Dahlstrom decided to move to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 2008, undertaking a Masters in Professional Writing, and has lived in the city ever since.

Revival

In March 2010, the CD Emotion - The Music of Patti Dahlstrom was released by Rev-ola. The 20 track compilation, drawing on Dahlstrom's four albums, was the culmination of renewed internet-based interest in her music, which had been mounting for several years. The package contained a 24-page booklet with essay by Mick Patrick, revitalised sound quality consequent to work by Norman Blake
Norman Blake (Scottish musician)
Norman Blake is a singer-songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.Blake and Sean Dickson were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few.Blake and Carson were...

 and Joe Foster
Slaughter Joe
Slaughter Joe aka Joe Foster is a musical artist, record producer, historian, and former child actor.Along with Alan McGee and Dick Green, he had formed Creation Records in 1983. He set up the Kaleidoscope Sound label in the mid 1980s, and Creation's subsidiary label Rev-Ola Records in the early...

, and design and artwork by Andy Morten. Engineering was by Nick Robbins. Norman Seeff's
Norman Seeff
Norman Seeff was born March 5, 1939 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work as a photographer and filmmaker has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process....

 striking photographs of Dahlstrom were used throughout. The compilation scored a four-star review by Kingsley Abbott in Record Collector magazine.

Albums

  • Patti Dahlstrom (UNI 73127, 1972)

Produced and Arranged by Toxey French. String Quartet and Background Vocals Arranged by Michael Omartian. Guitar/Leader: Ben
Benay. Keyboards: Michael Omartian, Jerry Peters. Drums: Joel O'Brien, Gene Pello, Toxey French. Bass: Jerry Scheff, Jack Conrad.
Congas: King Errison. Tenor Sax: Jim Horn. Strings: Tibor Zellig, Harry Hyams, Jesse Ehrlich. Concertmaster: Sid Sharp.
Background Vocals: Billie Barnum, Julia Tillman, Oma Drake. Photography: Ed Caraeff.
Art Direction and Design: Virginia Clark.
  • The Way I Am (20th Century T421, 1973)

Produced by Michael J Jackson and Michael Omartian. Guitars: Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Ned Doheny, David Spinoza, David Lindley.
Keyboards: Michael Omartian, Craig Doerge, David Spinoza, Michael Utley. Drums: Jim Gordon, Gary Mallaber. Congas: Jim Gordon.
Bass: Jack Conrad, Bryan Garafalo, Leland Sklar. Sax, Flutes, Clarinets: Tom Scott. Flugelhorn and Flute Arranged by: Clarence
McDonald. Strings Arranged by: Michael Omartian, David Campbell, Norman Kurban. Background Vocals: Patti Dahlstrom, Don Dunn.
Photography: Ed Caraeff. Design: David Larkham and Michael Ross for Tepee Graphics.
  • Your Place Or Mine (20th Century T461, 1975)

Produced by Jack Conrad and Bill Schnee. Guitars: Dean Parks, Al Staehely
Al Staehely
Al Staehely was a singer/songwriter from the 1970s. He was featured in Spirit, The Staehely Brothers, The Nick Gravenites John Cipollina Band and recorded with labels such as Epic and Polydor.He is now an entertainment lawyer based in Houston, Texas...

, Art Munson
Art Munson
Art Munson is an American recording artist, musician. He has also been involved as a songwriter and record producer. Munson began his musical career playing with Dick Dale and the Del-Tones and later began touring with the Righteous Brothers and Paul Williams....

, Freddy Tackett, Steve Cropper, Jay Grayson,
Al Casey. Keyboards: Larry Knechtel, Michael Utley, Andy Cahan, George Clinton. Drums: David Kemper, Gary Mallaber, Jim Keltner.
Bass: Jack Conrad, David Hungate, Klaus Voorman. Banjo, Fiddle, Slide: David Lindley. Accordion: Nick DeCaro. Horns: Jim Horn,
Chuck Findley, Jackie Kelso, Lon Van Eaton. Flute: Jim Horn. Percussion: Steve Foreman, Milt Holland. Strings Arranged by: Jimmie
Haskell, David Foster. Concertmaster: Sid Sharp. Background Vocals: Patti Dahlstrom, Don Dunn, Ray Kennedy, Chuck Higgens.
Horns Arranged by Jim Horn. Photography: Buddy Rosenberg, Bob Levy. Art Direction: Queens Graphics.
  • Livin' It Thru (20th Century T521, 1976)

Produced by Larry Knechtel. Cast: Mike Baird, Ben Benay, Gary Coleman, Jack Conrad, Jay Cooper, Michael Deasy, Daryl Dragon, Don
Dunn, Chuck Findley, Bernie Grundman, Jimmie Haskell, Duitch Helmer, Jim Horn, Jackie Kelso, Larry Knechtel, Shelly Knechtel, Jeff
Porcaro, Russ Regan, Jerry Scheff, Norman Seeff, Sid Sharp etc, Bob Siller, Melissa Tennille, Toni Tennille, Gary Ulmer, Al Staehely
Al Staehely
Al Staehely was a singer/songwriter from the 1970s. He was featured in Spirit, The Staehely Brothers, The Nick Gravenites John Cipollina Band and recorded with labels such as Epic and Polydor.He is now an entertainment lawyer based in Houston, Texas...

.
  • Emotion - The Music of Patti Dahlstrom (Rev-Ola Rev 299, 2010)

Compilation drawn from the previous four albums, with the track listing:
1. Emotion
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Véronique Sanson) Warner Bros Music Corp
2 He Did Me Wrong But He Did It Right
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Al Staehely
Al Staehely
Al Staehely was a singer/songwriter from the 1970s. He was featured in Spirit, The Staehely Brothers, The Nick Gravenites John Cipollina Band and recorded with labels such as Epic and Polydor.He is now an entertainment lawyer based in Houston, Texas...

) Patti Dahlstrom Music/Camp Music Co
3 Sending My Good Thoughts To You
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom and Artie Wayne) Patti Dahlstrom Music/Warner Bros Music Corp
4 Get Along Handsome
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Jobete Music Co, Inc
5 This Isn't An Ordinary Love Song
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
6 Without Love
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Al Staehely
Al Staehely
Al Staehely was a singer/songwriter from the 1970s. He was featured in Spirit, The Staehely Brothers, The Nick Gravenites John Cipollina Band and recorded with labels such as Epic and Polydor.He is now an entertainment lawyer based in Houston, Texas...

) Esperadora Music/Camp Music
7 And I Never Did
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
8 Changing Minds
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Larry Knechtel) Esperadora Music
9 Give Him Time
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
10 Ollabelle And Slim
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
11 Cleveland Snow
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Jobete Music Co, Inc
12 Comfortable
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Robbie Leff) Jobete Music Co, Inc
13 Wait Like A Lady
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
14 For Everybody's Sake
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Patti Dahlstrom Music
15 I'm Letting Go
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Jobete Music Co, Inc
16 Innate
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Jobete Music Co, Inc
17 One Afternoon
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Esperadora Music/Abbey San Encino Press
18 Rider
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc
19 The Way I Am
(Words: Patti Dahlstrom/Music: Severin Browne) Jobete Music Co, Inc
20 What If
(Words and Music: Patti Dahlstrom) Jobete Music Co, Inc

External links

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