Tracy Weber

Weber was shot and killed in 1982.

I wrote sure shot with Nicky Braddy.
I knew her very well.
There is a long story behind getting this record and others we made with her to the record company.
If your interested I'll tell you.

Richard Bassoff

Very sad story....I just listened to "Sure Shot" for the first time and did some research.....Can you tell us something about her, Richard.....by the way congratulation for the song....it's great....

She was a good person and a great talent.
We wrote the the song in a day after a record exec. liked the first song we recorded with her "One Step At A Time".
He later said they did not have the money to release it.
It ended up with RFC Records through a person we worked with at the time.
She could sing any song just hearing it once.
Two takes in the studio was all she needed.

I would love to listen to something else from her, what do you suggest...?

The only releases I know of are "Sure Shot " and "One Step At A Time". What great songs. What a great talent silenced too soon.

rbassoff, please tell us more. Anything else you know about Tracy Weber. I can't find anything online and I think we would all appreciate if you shared your knowledge or any other memories you might have.
Thank you!

We did another demo with Tracy Weber, which was never released called "You Ought To Know". I liked the song alot.

Tracy grew up in Jamaica Queens near my writting partner Nicky.
Thats where Nicky became friends with Tracy.

After Tracy died we found another great talent who was a friend of her's by the name of Bernice Watkins. We later named her Mahogany and released " Ride On The Rythm" through West End Records.

That's sucy an amazing story Richard!!! I love Sure Shot - it's one of my all time favorite songs. Never heard One Step at a Time but always wanted to - I can only find it on vinyl. Also thanks for the great info on Bernice Watkins. I love Ride on the Rhythm very much too, and pretty much all West End Records.

Are you still producing?

You can get Tracy Weber's "Sure Shot" and "One Step at A Time" on CD through Amazon.
I have not writtin or produced a record in some time.
I left the New York area and moved to Florida.

Thanks! I just orderd it. You know, I can't believe you don't write and produce - how is this possible? And do you still talk to Nicky? It really made my day that I could communicate with you Richard. Sure Shot (also love the Larry Levan mix) and Ride on the Rhythm are two of my all time most favorite songs. I've always got them in my car and listen to both of them all the time.

Would you ever consider working in the industry again?

Once again, thank you so much. I've looked for info on Tracy Weber online over the past few years and have found nothing! What happened to her? Do you know when she died?

The satisfaction you get from writting songs like these and others I was invloved in is great. The money is terrible.
Big dance records don't =a living, unless they go pop.
I would consider again.
Tracy was shot to death in a friends apartment about 2 weeks before the record came out.

Thanks from me too, Richard.
I would like to ask you a question:
Do you like today's house music.....?
And if you do, what artists in particular ....?
Thanks

I'm really surprised the money isn't good because you've done some tremendous work! Where did the money go? I had a label a long time ago but never a hit, so of course there was no money there, but the work you've done is major music history. I bet if you worked today, you would make money.

Can you tell me what Tracy was like and how you hooked up with her? As I said, nothing can be found online about her. This is the absolute most information I could ever learn, from you, so thank you again. As you can tell, I'm very interested.

Tracy was very out going with a great personalty.
Nicky knew her much better then I.
If your in New York stop at Harvy Electronics in the ABC Carpet building on Broadway. He works there.
Alot of the big club dance records do not do well on radio. Therefore you don't don't get the big money from radio play and Record Sales.

Richard,

Thank you so much for filling in the blanks concerning this artist. Quietly as it's kept, you and Nick were two of my favorite dance music writing partners during the 80s. And I have that song You Ought To Know - with Michelle Wallace singing it. Peace to you...

Let me rephrase that - I re-read it and it looks like I wrote with you!! You and Nick were a favorite songwriting team of mine during the 80s dance music scene. I would buy just about anything that you two wrote - Tracey Weber, Mahogany, Michelle Wallace and others. Thanks for the great music. Peace....

A talented woman who made a hit record!

May she rest in peace and hopefully this, songwriting team bring the classics back to life!

Sure Shot was a big record mixed by Larry Levan and heard @ the Paradise Garage & radio in New York City.

Richard, get back to me via email and we'll speak behind the scenes.

It was 1982. I was a sophomore at UNC-Greensboro. It was my understanding that Tracy had left school North Carolina A&T State University to go and pursue her music career in NYC. "Sure Shot" had just dropped & was blowing up. Shortly after it's release, the news came that she was tragically killed (shot) in NYC. It was sadly unbelievable.

God rest her soul !

Hello my name is David and I would like to have more information about Tracy Weber, any short biography would be helpful like where and when was she born, how and when did she start her career as a singer, why and when was she killed.
Her release "SURE SHOT" is still hitting in the most important Dance Clubs in Argentina but nobody knows that she passed the way. Rest in Peace.

I grew up in St. Albans, Queens on 196 Street, 3 blocks from Tracy & family. We went to the same church (Grace United Methodist on Murdock Ave.). My earliest memory of her singing is when she sang "Let There Be Peace On Earth and Let It Begin With Me" in church. Even then her voice was amazing. Everyone was shocked when she was killed. No one I'd ever known my age was killed like that. Her funeral was heartbreaking--I recall her sorority sisters forming a ring around her casket and singing. So sad.

I also remember Bernice Watkins (Mahogany)from the neighborhood. She lived on 198 Street. When I was 8 I took piano lessons from her mom, Gladys. Wow, you bring back memories.

TRACY, WENT TO ANDREW JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL IN JAMAICA QUEENS. SHE WAS A GOOD LOOKING, VERY OUTGOING, PERSON. SHE LATER ATTENDED NORTH CAROLINA A&T. SHE WAS VERY TALENTED. I DIDN'T KNOW HER VERY WELL. I REMEMBER SHE WAS ALWAYS SMILING AND LAUGHING. SHE WAS A FRIEND OF A FRIEND OF MINE, ROGER CLARKE, I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM IN MANY YEARS.

Perhaps this is old news. Has anyone already checks this out? I was very surprised although I do not know the complete original song from Tracy Weber.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WVEnj8MMtpw

Yep and some people on youtubes (above link) comments identify it as a sample, but most probably some keys are just replayed (i have and like both records). Roisin mainly wrote the lyrics but i think Andy Cato wrote most of "Let Me Know" music, frankly using bass and keys from "Sure Shot" in a contemporary way.
Maybe Sir Bassoff could try to contact EMI for some sort of clearance…

Aside of that i never understood the (unpardonable) motivation of Tracy Weber murderer.

I grew up with tracy on 199 street st albans queens.We had a little singing group , of course she was the only one who could sing. Even then at the age of 9 or 10 we all knew she had a special voice. I remember singing(trying to sing] Going to the chapel of love, at ps 136 on 201 street and 115 ave. She was great i was scared to death, she sung the whole song by herself . Tracy was a sweet giving person, her whole family was cool her mother was everyones mother. As children we had our whole lives ahead of us , i was shocked and hurt when she was killed.. Tracy was at the wrong place at the wrong time this i know, she will always be remembered by me as a happy cheerful loving chilhood friend.

Hi all, and especially hello Richard,

I just stumbled across this thread while trying to find some more info on 12" containing the Larry Levan vocal(!) cut timing 7:18.

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Well, but the above became irrelevant because I was shocked heavily twice while reading this page. First of all because of the very tragic death of this talented singer. RIP Tracy Weber!

But WAIT...How can it be that nobody mentioned the following song yet:
>>> "Let Me Know" by Róisín Murphy <<<

It definitely contains a sample of Sure Shot - well not directly a sample...but it clearly 'borrows' (better yet STEALS) the hook melody of Sure Shot.

To convince yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_vCOOW_BsE
(skip to 0:53)

@Richard Bassoff: I really hope you (and Nicky) received heavy royalty for this from EMI records since this was a pretty big hit on the dance charts across Europe in 2007 (see some stats here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B3is%C3%ADn_Murphy)
As I cannot see any credit given to you I'm afraid this sample wasn't cleared. Or is the hook too short to claim any royalty? I'm not into all these law things - but it smells like a rip off to me...

Just search the comments on YouTube for "Sure Shot" and you'll see how many other people think that the Original version in fact is YOUR SONG!

Best regards,
Lorenz

PS: Did I mention that I love this song - though I don't come from the Disco-Era (I'm 32 years old from Hamburg, Germany)

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIND SOME PICTURES OF HER FORM HER FAMILY OR SOMEBODY TO POST UP SO THE WORLD CAN SEE WHAT SHE ALSO LOOKED LIKE!

i remember sure shot when i was 11 years old leaving in harlem. it got heavy radio play. i was so jealous cause i wanted to sound like tracy. i remember my girlfriends telling me she got killed by the mafia. i didnt believe it then. i want to know after all these years what did she look like and how old was she when she died?