DONNIE ELBERT

He was born in New Orleans on May 25, 1936, but grew up in Buffalo, NY. As a child, he learned the guitar and piano. In 1955, he formed a doo-wop group called the Vibraharps. Elbert was the group’s guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and background singer. He made his recording debut on their 1956 release, “Walk Beside Me.” Elbert went solo in 1957 and made a demo that got him signed to King Records. “What Can I Do,” on the DeLuxe subsidiary, reached #12 on Billboard magazine’s Rhythm & Blues chart. He followed it with “Believe It or Not” and “Have I Sinned?” The latter became a local hit in Pittsburgh.

With additional singles on Deluxe (which failed to sell), Elbert toured the Chitlin’ Circuit of Black-owned nightclubs and even played Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. After a 1959 album, The Sensational Donnie Elbert Sings, he left DeLuxe and joined Red Top Records of Philadelphia. There, he released one single, “Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You),” in 1960. Elbert next turned up on the Chicago-based Vee-Jay label, where he recorded “Will You Ever Be Mine.” It became a local hit in Philadelphia and reportedly sold 250,000 copies.

Elbert’s career was put on hold when he was drafted into the Army, which discharged him in 1961. After that, Elbert turned up on several more labels—including Parkway, Cub, and Checker—but his releases were commercially unsuccessful. On the Gateway label, he recorded “A Little Piece of Leather” in 1965. Seven years later, it made the charts in England thanks to that country’s Northern Soul scene.

In 1966, Elbert became involved in a copyright dispute over authorship of the Darrell Banks hit, “Open the Door to Your Heart.” He had written it as “Baby Walk Right In” and given the song to Banks, who received the sole writer’s credit. BMI eventually resolved the dispute by awarding Elbert joint authorship with Banks. It is one of more than 100 songs Elbert either wrote or co-wrote.

He subsequently moved to the UK and got married there. In 1968, Elbert made recordings for Polydor that included an album of Otis Redding songs called Tribute to a King. His 1969 single on Deram, “Without You,” topped the Jamaican charts due to its rock-steady rhythm.

Elbert returned to the US and, in 1970, enjoyed his first chart hit in thirteen years. “Can’t Get Over Losing You,” on the Rare Bullet label, got to #26 on the Soul Singles chart. Elbert wrote the song and also its B-side, “Got to Get Myself Together.” In 1971, he moved to the All Platinum label, where Elbert remade the seven-year-old Supremes hit, “Where Did Our Love Go?” It became his biggest hit to date, reaching #6 on the Soul chart and #15 pop. It also went top ten in the UK.

Next, Elbert signed with Avco-Embassy and worked with the highly successful production team of Hugo & Luigi. His remake of the Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself” did well in both the soul and pop markets and also charted in the UK. But when the label wanted Elbert to record only Motown covers, he said no and returned to All Platinum. There, he had some minor hits on the Soul chart and left the company after a disagreement over the authorship of Shirley & Company’s 1975 hit, “Shame Shame Shame,” which went to label owner Sylvia Robinson. Elbert then formed his own label, A/O, for his 1975 release, “You Keep Me Crying (With Your Lying).” His last charted single, “What Do You Do,” came out in 1977.

By the middle ‘80s, Elbert had stopped performing and became director of Artists & Repertoire for Polygram’s Canadian division. He died in Philadelphia of a massive stroke on January 26, 1989. Donnie Elbert was fifty-two.

Charted singles:

“What Can I Do” (1957) R&B #12, Pop #61
“Can’t Get Over Losing You” (1970) R&B #26, Pop #98
“Where Did Our Love Go” (1971) R&B #6, Pop #15, UK #8
“Sweet Baby” (1972) R&B #30, Pop #92
“I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” (1972) R&B #14, Pop #22, UK #11
“If I Can’t Have You” (1972) R&B #30
“Little Piece of Leather” (Reissue, 1972) UK #27
“This Feeling of Losing You” (1973) R&B #77
“Love Is Strange” (1974) R&B #70
“What Do You Do” (1977) R&B #94