One Step at a Time
Tracy Weber was discovered by Songwriter Nicky Braddy as they grew up close to one another in Queens, New York. Nicky and his writing partner Richard Bassoff penned "One Step at a Time" and "Sure Shot" with Tracy in mind. Recorded and produced by Eric Matthew and Gary Turnier, "Sure Shot" was a massive club hit thanks in part to a mix by Larry Levan. Sadly, Tracy was shot and murdered in a friends apartment two weeks before the single was released. "One Step at a Time" finally saw the light of day with a "Sure Shot" instrumental on the flip in 1983. Bassoff and Brady went on to write and produce "Ride on the Rhythm" by Mahogany for West End Records before both men exited the music business shortly thereafter. According to Richard Bassoff, Matthews and Turnier recorded a third track with Weber entitled "You Ought to Know" which remains unreleased to this day. Bassoff also claims that Tracy could nail any vocal in just one or two takes. I searched high and low, but could not find any picture of Tracy whatsoever. If anyone knows where I can find one, please hit me up.
Posted by Magnum | 7 comments
Labels: boogie, Eric Matthew, Gary Turnier, Gary's Gang, Larry Levan, Tracy Weber
September 3, 2008 at 1:31 PM
Hot instrumental, sad story--thanks for this. Such an awesome resource to visit for info and tracks from this era; Eric Matthew in particular's someone I wouldn't have been able to hold in such high regard were it not for your schooling...
September 4, 2008 at 2:19 PM
The instrumental is fire
September 4, 2008 at 7:21 PM
Yes, Eric Matthew was one of the very key architects of the early 80's boogie/club sound. He was instrumental in writing and producing so many incredible joints.
September 4, 2008 at 9:55 PM
Dude, click the Eric Matthew tag for more of his amazing boogie tracks that we have covered.
September 9, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Roisin Murphy has used some samples of this song on her latest album for a song called 'Let me know'. You can really hear the song's influence on it! LoVE LOVE this blog!
June 23, 2009 at 6:02 PM
What do you want a picture of "Butter" for?
September 7, 2010 at 2:16 AM
http://www.discomusic.com/people-more/1657_0_11_0_C/
Pic and people close to Tracy.
Does anyone know who did the horn arrangement on Sure Shot?
And obviously, who played it? Were it the guys from Side Effect?
It´s _so_ tight, and together with Tracy Weber´s singing it is for me one of the best tracks from the 80´s