WILLIAM SALTER "IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL TO BE" (1977)

I'd like to take a minute to tell you a thing or two that's on my mind
I know I've a got a reputation but baby you're fine, fine, fine

And you're the one I always notice everytime you pass my way
I get a natural reaction makes me wanna say, say, say

You got style, baby (Girl's got it)
You got style, baby
You got style, baby (She's got it)
You got style, baby

You got style, style, style
You got style, style, style
You got style, style, style

Oh baby, please baby, don't let me down
you got vibrations that keeps me hanging around
Oh woman, oh woman, you're what I need
there's a thousand ways I know to keep love guarantee

Baby you got style and I want the world to know it
but the thing that makes me higher is the special way you show it

A lot of girls are pretty to look at and some are like a dream come true
well, I don't want an imitation all I want is you, you, you

You got style, baby (Girl's got it)
You got style, baby
You got style, baby (She's got it)
You got style, baby

You got style, style, style
You got style, style, style
You got style, style, style

[from the lyrics of "You Got Style"]



William Salter is a native born son of Harlem NY who began his music studies at the High School of the Performing Arts; his life encompasses virtually every arena of music.

Salter had the privilege of working closely with Miriam Makeba back in the 60s, first as her bass player and then as her music composer. After he moved from her, he went on to work extensively with Harry Belafonte.

During the years he has toured all over the world with such celebrated musicians as Pete Seeger, Herbie Mann, Leon Thomas, Horace Silver, Oscar Brown Jr. and many more.

Since the late 60s he has teamed up with Ralph MacDonald: as songwriters they have composed hundreds of tunes, including "Mr. Magic" for Grover Washington Jr. and "Tradewinds" which was recorded by both Rod Stewart and Lou Rawls.




He had a very successful run in the 70s working with the very best in the music business of that time, including Roberta Flack, for whom the senior Salter and MacDonald wrote the classic tune "Where Is the Love", which Flack recorded with the late Donny Hathaway to great acclaim and Platinum status.

In 1982, along with Bill Withers, Salter and MacDonald won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song with "Just the Two of Us", performed by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers.

Nowadays Salter is still active with his group, The Ebony Hillbillies. According to their own definition, they "play authentic music that is reminiscent of the late 20s and early 30s, when blacks owned their music and were improvisational when it came to creating beats and melodies."

My promotional copy of "It Is So Beautiful to Be" comes with a generic Marlin company innersleeve...

Released in 1977 by Marlin, a T.K. Production subsidiary, "It Is So Beautiful To Be" is William Salter's one and only solo album. The following short review was published on the 19th November 1977 issue of Billboard:

Known primarly as one of New York's top bass players, William Salter gives an impressive performance here as a singer on eight tunes, all of which he had a hand in writing. He has a rich, expressive baritone which rocks nicely, but is most striking on ballads.

Best cuts: "It Is so Beautiful To Be", "Lena", "Three Days of Flowers", "When You Smile".

...and here's a few more words about the album sourced from the online version of the famous trade magazine:

Vocalist Salter eases through eight MOR love songs in a smooth-as-silk baritone backed with a smooth-as-glass rhythm section comprised of studio heavies who never stray from William Eaton's lulling charts. Ralph McDonald produced this romantic excursion.

Best cut: "You Got Style".

"It Is So Beautiful To Be" contains the following tracks:

01. You Got Style (4:09)
02. It Is So Beautiful To Be (4:35)
03. Let's Be Lovers Again (4:08)
04. If You Can Believe (3:49)
05. Lena (3:35)
06. You (4:28)
07. Three Days of Flowers (4:16)
08. When You Smile (4:00)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in April/May 2012 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files, both formats include completely restored PDF artwork. Please have a look at the comments for the download links.



All songs on the album were written by William Salter and Ralph MacDonald; unfortunately the copy I own is a promotional item and doesn't include the original lyrics sheet that I know was included in the official release.

Released as Marlin 2205, the album opens with "You Got Style", a track that was previously featured on the "Upchurch/Tennyson" album, by Phil Upchurch and Tennyson Stephens, released in 1975 on C.T.I. Records' sister label Kudu; this is a perfect introduction to the relaxed and classy atmospheres of the album. The title-track "It Is So Beautiful To Be" follows with its cool arrangement and the unobtrusive but effective multilayered percussions.

"Let's Be Lovers Again" was co-written by Allanah Salter, it combines Conniff-style back-up vocals, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" accompaniment and classic Broadway soft shoe, solo/ensemble numbers. The closing number "If You Can Believe" features evocative synth-lines by Bob James; this song was previously recorded by Melba Moore for her "Peach Melba" album back in 1974. "Let's Be Lovers Again" and "If You Can Believe" were also released as a 7" single on Marlin with catalogue number 3315.

The girl portrayed in "Lena", the opening track of Side 2, seems to have all the style that Salter was singing about in another tune. Co-written by Andrew Primus and featuring guitar solos by Eric Gale, this is one of the best tracks of the album. "You" showcases a full-scale arrangement tinted with hints of Brazilian rhythms, a driving beat and the usual rich melodies that Salter and MacDonald, along with producer/arranger William Eaton, have accustomed us with in this precious work of music.

"Three Days of Flowers" features once again Bob James on synthesizers and offers more easy-listening backing-vocals and an harmonc meeting of melodic structures and constructions. The album closes with "When You Smile", a track which is best remember in the version that Shirley Bassey performed on her 1974 album entitled "Nobody Does It Like Me".



Here's the long credits and personnel list of "It Is So Beautiful To Be":

Producers: Ralph MacDonald, William Salter and William Eaton for Antisia Productions
Arranged and conducted by: William Eaton
Recorded and mixed at: Rosebud Recording, Inc. - 1595 Broadway, New York, New York
Engineered by: Richard Alderson
Assisted by: Eddie Heath, Jr. and Eric Bowman
Disc mastering by: Dave Crawford
Album coordinator: Diane Johnson
Assisted by Judith Slaughter and Vickie Saratore
Cover painting by: David A. Leffel
Photos by: Martin Cohen
Art Direction and design by: Howard Smiley and Richard Roth
All songs published by: Antisia Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Rhythm Section:
Ralph MacDonald: percussion
Steve Gadd: drums
**Eric Gale: guitar
Hugh McCracken: guitar
Richard Tee: piano and Fender Rhodes
Anthony Jackson: bass
Don Grolnick: piano on "Let's Be Lovers Again"
Eric Weissberg: steel guitar and banjo
Rubens Bassini: addditional percussion on "It Is So Beautiful To Be"
Bob James: synthesizer
William Eaton: string ensemble on "If You Can Believe" and "Three Days of Flowers"

Horns: **Harold Vick; Seldon Powell; Eddie Daniels; Jon Faddis; Victor Paz; Waymon Reed; George Coleman.

Strings: Alfred Brown; Selwart Clarke; Sanford Allen; Noel Pointer; Julien Barber; Matthew Raimondi; Eugene Moye, Jr.; Richard Sartomme; Avram Weiss; Seymour Barab; Dian Halprin; Charles Libove; Harry Lookofsky; David Nadien.

**Eric Gale appears through courtesy of Columbia Records, Inc.
**Harold Vick appears through courtesy of Wolf Records
**Patti Austin appears through courtesy of C.T.I. Records, Inc.
**Valerie Simpson appears through courtesy of Warner Bros. Records, Inc.

You Got Style (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Solo: Jon Faddis, flugelhorn and trumpet
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry, Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders

It Is So Beautiful To Be (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Solo: Eddie Daniels, flute
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry, Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders

Let's Be Lovers Again (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter / Allanah Salter)
Solo: Eddie Daniels, tenor sax
Background Vocals (intro): **Patti Austin, Lani Groves, Tony Wells, William Eaton
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry, Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders

If You Can Believe (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Solo: Bob James, synthesizer
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry, Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders

Lena (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter / Andrew Primus)
Solo: **Eric Gale, guitar
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, **Valerie Simpson, Leslie Miller, Kenny Karen, Tony Wells, Doug Franklin

You (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Background Vocals: Gwen Guthrie, Brenda White, Debbie McDuffie, Frank Floyd, Raymond Simpson, Zachary Sanders

Three Days of Flowers (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Solo: Bob James, synthesizer
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, **Valerie Simpson, Leslie Miller, Kenny Karen, Tony Wells, Doug Franklin

When You Smile (Ralph MacDonald / William Salter)
Solo: Eddie Daniels, soprano sax / Waymod Reed, trumpet
Background Vocals: **Patti Austin, Lani Groves, Zachary Sanders, Frank Floyd

William Salter, picture taken from the back cover of "It Is So Beautiful to Be" (1977)

A few more information about William Salter  is available here:

http://mytrendybuzz.com/2012/04/18/trendy-interview-with-music-composer-bill-salter/

http://www.discogs.com/artist/William+Salter#t=Credits_All&q=&p=1

http://www.musicvf.com/songs.php?page=artist&artist=William+Salter&tab=songaswriterchartstab

http://tklp.blogspot.it/2010/02/william-salter-it-is-so-beautiful-to-be.html

http://www.ebonyhillbillies.com/

If you have any other useful information about William Salter and "It Is So Beautiful To Be" - especially corrections and improvements to this post - or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!