into the music industry?
Harry Elston: I have been totally blessed, because when a lot of groups first start out, they have to pay a whole lot of dues and they have ups and downs. Ours went rather smooth, even from the Hi Fi's. We sung a whole lot of jazz. We were stone heart jazz singers, but it was cool. When we transitioned to Friends of Distinction, we were totally blessed. We rehearsed from six or nine months. Jim Brown was still playing football, then he retired. He was our manager. He was a hot property and he opened a lot of doors. Grazing in the Grass came out and we took off. As a matter of fact, I think I paid more dues afterwards than in the beginning. That shows how life can go. Just in terms of up and coming artists, this is my philosophy: Timing is the name of the game. I don’t care how talented you are, how well you can dance, if it’s not your time it’s just not going to happen. So it’s just that simple. You have to keep that in mind and there are more areas in this industry than you’re seeing. When we didn’t perform for a while, I was in Northern California and I went to Radio/Television Broadcasting School. That was important to me. You can get creative in a lot of ways. I was able to write scripts and get on the radio.
Fuzionz Magazine: Do you think that we can get some of the new school artists to lean towards producing genuine, original old school music?
Harry Elston: There are two generations who missed the music cycles, as far as I’m concerned. I was blessed. My idols were Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole; people who did real music. The answer to your question is “I don’t know!” I hear a lot of the artists moving around to have more content, so we might be on an upward spiral in that respect. I think the main thing is if we keep it alive, we’re doing a good job. Raven Simone covered Grazing in the Grass and that’s the generation who were exposed to some old school stuff. I think maybe in the long run it may come back around.
It was an honor to do this interview with Harry Elston, as he is among the few Old School, Soulful artists who is still with us. We salute you Harry Elston.
Harry Elston Interview (continued...)
10 Fuzionz Magazine and TV