''Taken from a rough cassette mix, this is a very rare, obscure version given to me by Gregg Diamond (Bionic Boogie) on the day it was recorded in New York City. A few weeks earlier, I had worked on Gregg's entire Hot Butterfly album (with Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston). I'd come back to the studio straight from a vacation in Michigan to sing the lead vocal for one more song, "Paradise," which became a disco hit in 1978. My 16-year-old cousin Carolyn and my 16-year-old nephew Mark were with me on their first visit to the city. I barely made it to the session on time because our plane was delayed out of Detroit Metro Airport, so I brought Carolyn and Mark along.

After "Paradise" was done, Brad Baker (the horn arranger), Geoff Diamond (the engineer) and Gregg suggested I take a crack at the "Hot Butterfly" lead vocal. Luther had already recorded it and had done a beautiful job, but since my cousin and nephew were there -- and I could "show off" a little -- I decided to go for it. I will never forget the surprised and awed looks on their faces as they watched me sing. This performance is definitely one of my favorites, and it certainly includes the highest (recorded) notes I've sung. It's a wild one, but so were all the great Bionic Boogie records.''




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