Keni Burke

Kenneth M. "Keni" Burke (born September 28, 1953) is an American R&B, soul, funk, and jazz singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career as a member of the 1970s soul outfit, the Five Stairsteps.

Biography

Five Stairsteps

As a member of the Five Stairsteps, Burke wrote the group's first minor hit "You Waited Too Long" in 1966, but the group would see their biggest success with the million-selling song "O-o-h Child" in 1970. The group went on to sign with George Harrison's Dark Horse Records in 1975, and had their next hit with the Burke-penned "From Us to You", from their 1976 album 2nd Resurrection. The group disbanded soon after.

Solo career and session work

Skilled as a guitarist and bassist, Burke continued to work for the Dark Horse label as a session musician, while burgeoning a solo career of his own. In 1977, he released his self-titled debut album, which featured the songs "Keep on Singing", "Shuffle", and "From Me to You".

During this period he contributed instrumentation to songs by a diverse range of artists such as Sly & the Family Stone, Natalie Cole, Billy Preston, Terry Callier, Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross, and Gladys Knight.

Keni Burke (album)

Keni Burke is the debut solo album by former Five Stairsteps member Keni Burke. Released in 1977, on George Harrison's Dark Horse Records label. "Shuffle" and "Day", were released as singles in the US, with "From Me to You" and "Keep On Singing" as B-sides, respectively. The sleeve states: "Special thanks to George Harrison and Dennis Morgan for making this album possible."

Track listing

Personnel